


Sorcerer

by maidofviolets



Series: Sorcerer [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Historical Fantasy, M/M, how do you define this, no real people though, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-27 08:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 86,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/976562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maidofviolets/pseuds/maidofviolets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-1800s AU. It's the beginning of October. Furihata Kouki is a relatively normal boy who lives with his brother and sister on the outskirts of town, and getting involved with Akashi Seijuurou was the last thing on his list.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The chilly October air was quiet, as was any form of life around the area. The atmosphere was dull and the sky was grey, creating a sense of hushed worry among the residents, and the nipping cold touch to the air turned this into annoyance. People wrapped their coats and cloaks around themselves, blowing on their hands and muttering angrily about the prices of food or the state of their gardens as the mist escaped their mouths and dispersed into the air. The month was relatively new, but harvests and goods weren't doing well. Everyone could already tell it was going to be a harsh winter.

Most people were inside their houses, not wanting to face the bitterness outside. The only people outside were stall owners trying to sell whatever their harvests had produced that they didn't want to put in storage, trying to save up money for taxes and as possible bribing material in case their store of food ran out in the winter. Nobody wanted to starve to death. Most of the others were people interested in or desperate to buy this food, mainly because their harvests had failed or they simply hadn’t grown enough this year. You would think that these two groups would get along, but things were more complicated than that.

At the front of a queue for one stall, a man was significantly angrier than the other consumers. People nearby tried to ignore him as he banged his fist on the wooden surface in front of him and snapped at the frantic stall-keeper, who was trying to calm the man down before he decided to lash out at someone. His voice rang through and shattered the still air.

“Everything’s so fucking expensive!” he snarled, his face twisted in frustration. “At least have the decency to lower your prices instead of putting them up. People need to eat and you think you can just exploit them so you can have everything for yourself? I have a family at home, if you had one you would understand!”

The slightly smaller man lifted his hands helplessly. “W-we’re all having a harsh time. Please, sir, try to understand-”

“Oh, I understand.” The first man’s tone darkened. “You’re trying to pretend that everyone’s having an equally hard time with all this hunger crap. Well, you’re wrong! Have you even looked at the people around you recently? People are going to die this winter! You’re just grasping for excuses!”

“That’s not what I’m doing at all! I…”

The surrounding people were trying not to pay attention to the argument going on nearby and attempted to go about their business. A child stopped to stare at the two men until her mother took her hand and led her past the stall.

Behind the angry man, the line shifted. A young man stepped out of the queue, a quick “excuse me” slipping past his lips as he shuffled away from the spat with an uncomfortable frown on his face. He pulled his coat around his shoulders and began to make his way away from the stall, putting distance between himself and the shouting. He bit his lip and pushed a strand of brown hair out of his face.

Furihata Kouki often came to this circle of stalls. Unfortunately, right now hadn't been a good time. In fact the number of panicking and angry people had increased recently, taking up the time of the stall-keepers and driving the queuing people to other places where they could get their goods quicker and with less chatter. With less people in the area to buy, there was less incentive to sell, and the number of stalls was slowly dwindling. Soon there would be barely any and the queues would be longer, slower and filled with worrying people.

Furihata picked up his pace, tripping slightly over a misplaced stone and then righting himself again. Maybe he should just take it slow. All that shouting earlier had made him more jumpy than usual. 

He saw several other stalls on his way back home – standalones, circles, joint ones, you name it. He hurried past several more arguing people and tried to ignore them; he didn’t need to be worrying about the winter as much as they were. The beginning of this month had been colder than usual and he was hoping it would warm up a little, as was everyone else, but since winter was well on the way nobody was expecting much. 

Two old ladies, a child who could barely reach the counter, a mother with a very young baby, a man about his age with striking red hair – wait.

Furihata didn’t know exactly why a chill went down his spine but it was probably related to the reason why everyone seemed to be keeping their distance from the redhead. He forgot how to walk properly for a moment and had to take a moment to calm himself down, after which he stumbled away from the stall and didn’t look back. He allowed himself to breathe normally once he was far enough away and on the small road to his house. Shaking his head to clear it, he carried on walking.

When he reached his home, he was greeted with a hug from his sister. “Furihata-kun!” she exclaimed happily before letting him go. “How did it go? Did you manage to get anything?”

Hesitantly, he shook his head. “I… didn’t. Sorry, Momoi-san. The queues were too long and everyone’s raising the prices. Sorry.”

“That’s a shame. Not that we need it, it’s just better to be overstocked than understocked!” She smiled at him and beckoned him inside, closing the door.

“You shouldn't say that within earshot of half the people at the stalls today,” Furihata mumbled. The girl just laughed. “I’m not stupid! I don’t want to be yelled at by some idiots.” Her happy face melted into a concerned frown. “Hey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Furihata started slightly. “I-it’s nothing! I just… saw someone. That’s all.”

Momoi looked like she was about to say something else, but she was interrupted.

“Furihata.” The two of them looked up to see their brother, Aomine, standing at the top of the small flight of stairs. His eyes has that half-closed, bored look as usual, and his form was as relaxed and indifferent. He raised an eyebrow and began to make his way down, his feet clunking lazily on the wood. “You get anything?” 

A wordless shake of the head.

“Right. Eh, doesn’t matter.” The larger man leant against the banister. “Who did you see?”

Furihata swallowed. “I-I’m not sure if it was actually him, I could be wrong-”

“Just tell us, Furihata-kun,” Momoi encouraged.

Furihata’s eyes flickered between them. Neither of them were actually related to each other. Momoi and Aomine had been together since they were very young, but they were just childhood friends and anyone who knew them understood that their relationship was platonic and wasn’t going to take a step in the romantic direction as far as the eye could see. They referred to each other as brother and sister because it was easier and it was closer to what their relationship was actually like. Furihata had joined the family later on and while the bonds he shared with them were strong, they weren’t anything like the one they shared with each other. Nevertheless, their relationship didn’t suffer because of it. 

After a pause, he spoke. “You’ve… you’ve told me about him several times. I might be wrong, but… I think I saw Akashi Seijuurou.”

There was a short silence.

Two pairs of eyes turned towards Momoi as a few giggles came out of her mouth. She waved her brothers away. “What? It’s just funny how he’s so terrified of him, that’s all!”

“I-I’m not that scared!” Furihata protested but was silenced when Aomine gave him a disbelieving look and a snort. “You don’t need to be scared. Akashi won’t do anything to you. Just ignore the guy and he’ll ignore you – hell, he’d probably ignore you anyway.” Aomine stretched lazily and turned to Momoi. “I’ve been hired for another lifting job today so I’ll be going in a few minutes.” With that, he turned and began to walk up the stairs again.

“Hey!” Momoi shot past Furihata and tried to grab the back of Aomine’s collar, but missed because of the height difference and grabbed the middle of his shirt instead. “Why are you going upstairs if you’re going in a few minutes? You’ll just fall asleep again! And don’t give me your ‘I-need-to-get-ready crap, you just need to put a coat on. Get going now, stupid!”

She dragged him down the two steps that he’d managed to climb before being intercepted, paying no attention to his protests. She let him go briefly at the bottom so he had time to put his coat on, but the moment it was on she shoved him out the door.

“And don’t cause any damage this time!” she yelled, shutting the door with force. With a sigh, she turned back to Furihata with exasperation on her face.

“Geez, why is he always so laid-back? It’s never a good thing.” She patted Furihata on the shoulder and moved past him to the kitchen. “I need to get some food ready for my next trip. Mind helping me?”

They had been one of the luckiest families in terms of harvests this year; this was often the case because of their soil and the fact that they lived further away from the larger parts of the city. At this time of year, Momoi would go on trips to sell some of the goods they’d grown, leaving Aomine and Furihata to look after themselves (unsurprisingly this was when Aomine got into the most trouble) sometimes for as much as three days. While she was good at marketing, she wasn’t very good at gardening, as was Aomine. It was mostly Furihata who tended to the crops.

He took off his long coat and hung it on one of the pegs by the door, turning back to his sister with a smile. “Oh, sure. When are you leaving?”

Momoi laughed. “Not for a week at least, dummy! You sound like you’re expecting me to go any minute now.” She tutted at him and made her way down the small hallway. “I just need some help moving things in preparation, that’s all.”

Furihata nodded quickly and followed her into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whispers I deleted the notes on this chapter by accident and I don't remember what I wrote, sorry about that,, but I hope you like it so far!


	2. Chapter Two

“Dai-chan, what were the EXACT words I told you before you left yesterday?”

“Ugh, I dunno. Something about not causing damage.”

“I told you not to cause any damage this time, and look what you did! You were supposed to LIFT the tables, not BREAK them! How careless can you be?”

“Stop yelling at me. The tables would’ve broken anyway.”

“That’s a terrible attitude!”

Furihata rubbed his eyes and checked the watch on his bedside table. It was almost midnight. He let out a huffy sigh before burying his face in his pillow and trying to block out the sounds of his siblings arguing. Not only had Aomine come home late, he had also failed his job. Again.

“Satsuki, you’re going to wake Furihata.”

 _Too late for that,_ he thought, but didn’t say anything.

“And whose fault is that?” she snapped. “If you hadn’t caused such a fuss, this wouldn’t be happening! You could’ve at least come back earlier! We had people round three hours ago looking for a thief and Furihata-kun was moving things outside – I had to convince them that I didn’t live alone, and it wasn’t easy! Women living on the outskirts are always suspected of crimes.”

“How was I supposed to know that would happen?” Aomine growled. “Why didn’t you just call Furihata?”

Momoi lowered her voice just a little bit. “I don’t want to worry him with news about a thief, he’s already jumpy enough as it is. Don’t try to lie, I know you feel the same.”

Furihata lay still in his bed, his mind racing. So while he had been outside after dinner, Momoi had been grilled at the front door and hadn’t said anything about it? Come to think of it, he thought he heard voices, but he assumed it was just ordinary people nearby. 

If asked about the situation, he would deny being worried about the apparent thief in the neighbourhood, but that wouldn’t explain why his heart rate had sped up and why he was gripping his pillow slightly tighter than usual. He slowly tried to calm himself and get back to sleep as the voices from downstairs began to die down, taking a couple of deep breaths and thinking calming thoughts.

It quickly became evident that he wasn’t getting to sleep any time soon.

Sighing in defeat, he sat up in bed and tiptoed across the floorboards to avoid letting Aomine or Momoi know he was awake, making his way over to the window. He drew back the curtains and peered out of it into the night. A dog barked, making him jump. As time went on, he began to calm down.

“You’re awake, huh?”

Furihata almost jumped out of his skin, whirling around and tripping over his own feet, flailing until he grabbed his bedside table for balance. Drawing in a shaky breath and trying to ignore the muffled laughter coming from the direction of the door, he nodded at his brother. “Y-yeah. I heard you come in.”

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Aomine’s smirk faded slightly. “So I guess you heard us talking.”

Furihata nodded again. 

Aomine walked over to him, making no effort to quieten his loud footsteps. “Y’know, you don’t need to worry about the thief.” Furihata tried to protest that he wasn’t worried, but Aomine waved him away. “They’ve probably caught the bastard by now. It’s not like they’re gonna announce it in the middle of the night.” 

He yawned. Furihata’s eyes flickered back to the window. A wind rustled the trees and he instinctively shivered, even though there were no drafts in the room.

“You don’t look like you’re going to have an easy night’s sleep. Why don’t you go for a walk?”

Slowly, the younger boy turned his head towards Aomine and frowned, thinking he had misheard. “What?”

Aomine lowered his voice, presumably so Momoi wouldn’t hear. “C’mon, don’t tell me you’ve never gone out in the middle of the night?”

“…No. No I haven’t.”

“Wow.” His brother raised his eyebrows. “How about going tonight? You can’t sleep, and the thief is probably gone by now, if they were ever here in the first place. It’s been hours. And when you come back unscathed, you’ll feel better about it.” 

Furihata tried to ignore the word “probably” in that sentence. “But what if Momoi-san finds out?”

“She won’t, don’t worry.” Aomine gave him a good-natured thump on the back, causing his brother to yelp slightly and then cover his mouth. “Get changed and go. Don’t be out for long, just enough to clear your head. That’s what you’re going out for.” He turned around and left the room, shutting the door and leaving Furihata to his own devices.

Furihata rubbed the spot on his back where Aomine had thumped him and thought. At first the idea of going outside had seemed absurd, especially when people may be out looking for a thief. But they were here hours ago, and should’ve moved on by now, right? How bad could it be? 

As if his legs had a mind of their own, Furihata walked over to his dresser and pulled out a shirt. Stripping out of his sleepwear, he began to half-unconsciously button it. He was still tired, but just a little walk couldn’t hurt. He wouldn’t go far.

When he was fully dressed, he tiptoed downstairs as quietly as possible and slipped on his coat, buttoning that up too and pulling the hood over his head. With slightly shaking fingers he grasped the doorknob, turning it with some difficulty because of his sweating palms, and opened the door, taking a hesitant step out into the night. 

Glancing back at the warm house behind him and shivering – because of the actual cold this time – he closed the door and began to walk down the path.

He wasn’t quite sure where he was going. He walked quickly and jerkily at first, but began to calm and slow down when he became more comfortable with his surroundings. There were some lights still shining in the houses, some going off occasionally as people went to sleep. The air was cold, but refreshing. Aomine may have had the right idea to send him out.

He heard voices up ahead and his footsteps slowed slightly. He shook the uncertainty away and picked up his pace again, turning the corner into the next street.

Only to be greeted by several men, all in police uniform, a few on horses, crowding outside the door to one of the houses.

Furihata drew in a sharp breath and ducked back behind the corner he’d just came from, trying to still his breathing. What were they doing here? Were they hunting the thief? How come they were still in the area?

He heard an annoyed old woman’s voice and strained to hear what they were saying.

“I told you, I know nothing!” the aged voice snapped. “You’re disturbing everyone in the neighbourhood. I know you have a thief to catch and I’m glad you’re doing your job, but please stop calling on people in the middle of the night and asking us questions!”

Furihata swallowed. So they were looking for the thief.

“Ma’am, please understand,” a policeman said curtly. “We need all the information we can get. We have a suspect, but there is little information on his whereabouts. We are doing our best. We would appreciate your cooperation.”

“What cooperation? I can’t cooperate if I don’t know anything!”

“Ma’am-”

“I am fed up of you police officers knocking on mine and my neighbours’ doors at unreasonable hours! Goodnight!”

A door slammed. There was some more knocking and muttering among the policemen, until finally the clopping sound of horse hooves rang through the air as the policemen began to move out of the street. Furihata scurried out of sight and hid behind some barrels until they’d gone (which didn’t take long, they seemed to be in a hurry), at which point he stood up slowly and took a deep breath. 

He turned to go back, but a thought stopped him in his tracks.

If you assisted with catching a thief, didn’t you get a reward? A really big reward?

He and his siblings weren’t the poorest of people, but some of their neighbours were. If he helped to catch whoever was stealing things, couldn’t he help benefit the entire neighbourhood? The three of them would be celebrated and happy, and Momoi’s sales would benefit too. Aomine may even be able to get a permanent job.

There were some pretty significant downsides to this thought, of course. He doubted the thief was very skilled since apparently they hadn’t been able to leave the area in a while, but there was always the possibility that they just didn’t care and would escape later, or that they had even already left. If the latter was true, all this would be for nothing. But the more he thought about it, the more willing he was to take that chance.

He wasn’t going to go looking on his own, though. The horses couldn’t have gone far. He would run after them, ask them if there was anything he could do, and if they said no (which was more than likely) he would just leave. A little voice in his head told him to go back to the house and find Aomine for this, or to just go back to the house and stay there because this was the dumbest idea his scared 17 year old brain had ever had and he needed to sit down and rethink his life choices, but he ignored it. Instead, he turned around and began to follow the tracks of the horses, slowly and uncertainly at first, but then breaking out into a run once he was completely sure he was doing this.

Once again, he had no idea where he was going. He was running next to a forest and the houses were dispersed, so he knew he was still on the outskirts of town. However, after a short while he had no idea where he was and his breath was slightly laboured. He slowed his frantic running to a jog and looked down to check if he was still following the- oh.

The path in front of him was blank, with no sign of horse tracks anywhere. 

His eyes widened and he whirled around, trying to find the spot where they’d disappeared. Fortunately, they turned off-course just a few metres away, veering into the forest. He sighed in relief, and then felt like he’d just been punched in the chest by a sudden realisation.

This wasn’t fortunate at all. He was about to go running around in the woods in the middle of the night.

Was it really going to be worth it?

The thought of stopping and going home barely occurred to him. After shuffling from side-to-side for a while staring at the tracks, he shook his head and clenched his fists briefly in determination before stepping off the path and into the trees.

The policemen evidently weren’t stupid and had chosen an area where the trees were thinner to travel through, so that going through on horseback would be easier. Furihata tried to run along the horse tracks again, but tripped over a root and almost went sprawling in the dirt. He decided he’d better walk for now.

He stumbled through the undergrowth which seemed to be growing thicker and thicker as he went. It was mostly ivy, but there were fallen leaves and sticks everywhere which he kept slipping and tripping on. He could barely see where he was going because of the darkness, and it soon became apparent to him that he was no longer following the horse tracks, just crashing about in the woods like a lunatic.

Furihata mentally cursed himself. _Stupid, stupid!_

His thumping eventually ground to a stop as he decided this was getting him nowhere. There was no sign of any horses or policemen and god knew what time it was. He was completely lost, and had no idea how to get out. The earlier voice had been right. This WAS the dumbest idea he’d ever had.

And then he heard voices.

“I swear I heard crashing over here,” someone growled. There was the sound of cracking twigs and big boots stomping through the leaves.

“I did too,” a second voice announced. “But it’s gone now. The thief probably moved on.”

 _Shit, I was the one crashing around!_ Furihata’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. _They’ll think I’m the thief! I’ll be hanged for this!_

He looked around frantically for a hiding place and stumbled in the opposite direction from the voices. He heard someone shouting. “Men! That way!”

 _It’s the police, too!_ His breath was coming in short, laboured gasps as he struggled through the leaves, tripping over the ivy and dying bramble tendrils. _Am I going to-_

The ground suddenly sloped beneath him and whatever thoughts he had at that moment dissolved into internal screaming as he ran down the leaf-covered hill, hands flailing as he tried to grab onto something to slow himself down but to no avail. He dug his heels into the ground and tried to regain his balance but tripped, falling forwards into half-leafless bushes and just managing to grab onto a tree branch to steady himself. His breathing shaky, he took a look at the ground. He’d reached the bottom of the hill.  
Sinking down behind the tree, he peered out from behind the trunk to keep an eye out for the men.

The sound of footsteps and neighing sounded from over the hill. A whimper of terror escaped Furihata’s mouth and his breathing became faster once again.

A hand covered his mouth. “Your breathing is too loud.”

Furihata froze. 

The men appeared at the top of the hill. He breathed sharply again, but the hand around his mouth tightened and he forced himself to calm down.

There were four men, two on horses. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but they were pointing and arguing, presumably about which way to go. One of the men pointed down, and the other one shook his head. His ears caught something about horses and hills.

After what seemed like forever, the policemen turned and headed in the opposite direction.

The hand over his mouth was taken away and Furihata dared to turn his head. His brown eyes were met with red ones and he almost screamed.

“Y-y-you are-”

“Don’t speak.” The redhead’s voice was hushed. His eyes bore into him and Furihata stopped speaking instantly, as if he had no choice. “You were making too much noise. I was almost given away, and you need to be more careful.”

Furihata stared at him, unable to say anything.

“You need to leave. You came from that direction.” He pointed over the hill and slightly to the right. Furihata opened his mouth to ask how he knew, but the redhead just said “You’re not very quiet. It wasn’t difficult.”

Furihata suddenly found his voice. “A-Akashi… S-S-Seijuurou?”

“Yes. Now leave.”

The brunet’s head was still whirling with confusion and questions but his legs didn’t have time for that. As if they didn’t need him to tell them, his legs were already up and moving. Staring at Akashi for a moment longer, Furihata turned around and ran in the direction Akashi had pointed him in, completely forgetting to be quiet.

Getting up the hill was less traumatic than running down at full-tilt, that was for sure. He grabbed onto several trees and bushes on the way until he got to the top, then immediately started running again.

Someone grabbed his arm.

He instinctively tried to pull away, but his other arm was grabbed too and held behind his back. He knew instantly there was no point in struggling; the other man was much stronger than him. After looking around frantically for a few seconds, he saw a policeman walk out from behind a tree and come to a stop before him. His mind was spinning. _An ambush?_

The policeman holding his arms tightened his grip and the one in front of him began to question him vigorously. “Who are you, kid?”

His voice was loud and Furihata had to bite back a squeak of terror. “F-F-Furihata K-Kouki, sir!”

“What are you doing here?” the man snapped.

Furihata felt like he was going to pass out. “I-I… I got lost, sir!” It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“At half one at night? Give me a break!” The words made his heart sink with dread. Half one already? It’d been about half-midnight when he’d left the house!

“Tell us the truth, boy,” the policeman behind him growled.

Furihata began to fit the pieces together. He had followed the horses into the forest to assist with catching the thief, who was almost certainly Akashi from the way the police had talked about “having little information” about the suspect and how Akashi had told him how he had almost given him away. Akashi was hiding literally less than ten metres behind him. They could catch him now, and no more food would be stolen and Furihata’s neighbourhood could improve considerably if there was a reward.

He opened his mouth to give away Akashi’s whereabouts, but something stopped him.

Doubt lingered in his mind. What if Akashi wasn’t the thief? Come to think of it, it didn’t seem like something he would do from what Momoi and Aomine had told him. They hadn’t told him much; he guessed they didn’t know him all that well either, but he’d gathered Akashi was commanding and sometimes appeared cold, but he wasn’t dishonest. Furihata barely knew the guy, but he didn’t seem like the type who would commit a crime. It just didn’t fit.

“I-I came out here to… help you, sir,” he said, realising how pathetic that sounded. “I thought there might be a r-reward if someone c-caught the thief, so I was following you to… a-ask if I could help.” He gulped. “But now I don’t know where I am.” 

The officer in front of him stared at him harshly, before closing his eyes and sighing. “You don’t look like the sort who would know anything about thievery. But you shouldn’t be out at this time of night, you hear me?”

Furihata nodded quickly. “S-sorry!”

“Can you get home from here?”

“Y-yes. I think so.”

“Go on, then.” The man in front nodded to the man holding Furihata’s arms, who released them and stepped back. Furihata felt his arms become free and stumbled away from the policemen, then looked back at them in surprise.

“What are you staring for?” the questioning one snapped. “Run along!”

Furihata didn’t need to be told twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this chapter ended up being pretty long. They'll be shorter in the future 'cause I want to try and keep things consistent. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter Three

Furihata woke up with cold feet and sore eyes.

He had that usual moment of dizzy grogginess upon waking where you have no idea where you are or what you did last night, but it didn’t last long. When he remembered what happened last night, an uneasy feeling of dread settled in his chest. He groaned, burying his face in his pillow with his hands either side of his head.

Momoi had had Aomine’s ear in a firm grip and was yelling frantically at him when Furihata stumbled in through the door last night. She had immediately stopped and rushed forward, grabbing his shoulders and asking if he was okay with panic in her eyes. It had taken him a while to get the words out, but he nodded quickly while reassuring her and shaking from fear and the cold. Momoi’s concerned expression turned to one of anger afterwards and she began speaking to him in only a slightly gentler tone than she’d used with Aomine. 

“Why did you go out? It’s the middle of the night! Do you know what could’ve happened to you? And look at you, you’re a mess! You’re covered in mud and leaves!” She reached up and began aggressively scraping leaves and debris out of his messy hair like a mother cat grooming her kitten.

Furihata had mumbled an apology, too overwhelmed to say much else. She sighed and pushed him in the direction of the stairs. “Go and have a bath, okay? We’ll talk about this in the morning; you’re clearly in no state to talk now.”

Furihata rolled over in his bed and sighed, the back of his head resting on his pillow. He didn’t want to get up just yet, but he figured it was better to get it over with.

As soon as he sat up, pain shot through his body and he made a sound of discomfort. His muscles were sore from all the running last night. Sighing, he stood up and walked stiffly over to his dresser, where he began to get changed.

Momoi was waiting for him downstairs. There was no sign of Aomine.

She stood up as he walked into the kitchen, and he nodded to her. “M-Morning.”

“It’s past twelve,” she corrected him as he took out a loaf of bread and began to saw at it with the breadknife. He didn’t reply.

Furihata poured himself a glass of water and drank it in gulps. He ate the bread equally as quickly; he hadn’t realised how hungry he was. He wanted to have another slice, but he was probably in trouble and shouldn’t be eating as if he deserved a reward for his behaviour.

Hesitating, he glanced at Momoi. “Um…”

She shook her head and he closed his mouth. “Why did you go out last night?”

He looked away. “I couldn’t sleep. I… went for a walk. To clear my head.”

“Dai-chan encouraged it, didn’t he?”

He nodded. Momoi sighed. “I knew it. He said he suggested it, but denied making you go.” 

“He didn’t make me go,” Furihata said quietly. “He just said it was safe out, and the thief had probably moved on.”

“And was it safe?”

His heart thumped. “…Yeah.” He had hesitated a second too long. His sister frowned at him. “Something happened, didn’t it?”

He started. Another mistake. “N-nothing happened! It was fine.”

“You were shaking, terrified and out of breath when you walked in last night, of course it wasn’t fine!” Momoi’s voice rose. “Furihata-kun, you’re worrying me. Where did you go last night? Was it Akashi again?”

His alarmed reaction to Akashi’s name said it all. She stared at him and sighed, sitting down at the table and examining him. “Tell me.”

Furihata looked at her uncertainly, and began to run through the events of the night before. How he’d seen the horses and gotten the dumb idea to follow them and assist them, how he’d lost his way, stumbled on Akashi’s hiding spot and almost gotten caught by soldiers while trying to escape the woods. When he had finished, he looked up to see Momoi watching him closely with her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her knuckles. Her gaze was quizzical, shaded with annoyance and a tinge of sympathy too. She paused for a moment after the story before speaking.

“What you did could’ve landed you and all three of us in a lot of trouble, but I don’t want to lecture you about it because that’s boring for both of us.” She sighed. “Just don’t go running off again, okay? I know you have good intentions, but that was really dangerous!”

He nodded silently. She peered at him and spoke again after another hesitation.

“So they thought Akashi was the thief, hmm?”

He nodded again. “Mm.”

“That’s interesting.” She took her head off her hands and sat back in her chair. “We received word today that they caught the thief, and it definitely wasn’t Akashi.”

Furihata’s eyes widened slightly. “H-huh? Really?”

“Mhm!” Momoi stood up and stretched. “Akashi doesn’t seem like the type who would steal. I’m surprised they thought it was him in the first place.” 

Furihata blinked. So his intuition had been right. “But who was the thief?”

“Someone with the name Haizaki Shougo.” Momoi grimaced. “I’ve heard of him, he’s not a nice guy. Hearing it surprised me even less than Akashi not being the culprit.” She held out her hand to him and nodded at the bread and knife. “Pass them to me, please!”

He complied, and she began to cut herself a slice. He tried not to pay attention to how uneven the slice came out.

As she ate, Furihata looked around. “Um, where’s Aomine-kun?” 

“Hm? Oh!” Momoi looked as if she’d just remembered something. “I forgot to tell you, sorry. He got hired at the last minute to help set up the hangman’s noose. I think the usual person came down with a cold or something.”

He stared at her. “Hangman’s noose?”

She nodded her head. “They’re executing Haizaki Shougo today.”

He blinked in surprise. “Already? Really? Why?”

Momoi shrugged. “Apparently they have deciding evidence. Caught him in the act with a bunch of the reported missing items, or something. I suppose he must’ve pleaded guilty.” She finished her bread and flicked a few crumbs off her face with her finger. “The execution is taking place this afternoon. I suppose we’ll go and watch with the rest, even if it is a bit morbid. I just hope Dai-chan doesn’t screw up this time.” She grimaced, as if remembering their older brother’s folly last evening.

Furihata shifted uncomfortably. “We’re… going to watch the hanging?”

“Yeah.” She looked at him sympathetically. “I know going to these things bothers you. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I can tell the neighbours you were down with a cold if they ask.”

He shook his head. “N-no, I’ll go. I just won’t watch, if that’s okay.”

She smiled. “That’s fine! I think Dai-chan will meet us there.” She pulled out her little watch and peered at it, starting in surprise. “Alright, it’s almost 1pm. I need to go out for a bit. We have about two hours until we have to leave.” She stood up and put the bread away in the breadbin. “Read or work on getting ready for the harvest trip, or something.” 

Furihata thought about his sore muscles and decided that there was pretty much no way he was doing the latter today. Momoi gave him a quick hug and a farewell before walking briskly into the hall to get ready. She put on her coat, yanked her hat over her head, and waved goodbye before exiting the house.

She’d forgotten to put the bread knife away. Furihata picked it up, wiped off the crumbs with a cloth, placed it in the drawer with the other knives, and left the kitchen to go upstairs.

***

It was cold.

Furihata raised his shoulders to cover his neck, shivering slightly and warming his hands by pulling the sleeves of his coat over them. His limbs were still aching, but he tried to ignore it. His footsteps were quick and light, but not as light as the patter of Momoi’s, who was hurrying along next to him. Her hat was pulled over her ears, and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep herself warm. They walked briskly down the path, following the gradually-thickening groups of people.

It didn’t take long for them to get to the square. A large group of people were already gathered. Furihata and Momoi recognised some of them and exchanged brief greetings, but conversation was kept to a minimum. This was an execution, after all.

They quickly spotted Aomine, and vice-versa. He made his way over to them through the crowd and took his place next to them. Momoi looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. “I hope you did a good job on this one.”

Aomine snorted. “Come on, it doesn’t look that bad. No criminal’s gonna be escaping from there.”

Momoi just stuck out her tongue at him. Furihata stayed silent and instead listened to the whispered conversations going on nearby. Some were unrelated to the execution, others weren’t. Someone wondered if the noose would work. Another wondered what kind of background Haizaki was from. A couple of elders were talking about their turnips. Nothing too unusual, really.

He stood on tiptoe to see over the crowd and could just make out a few men – two soldiers and one scruffy guy with very pale hair which was so ash-blonde it could’ve been grey. Actually, maybe it was grey. His hands were tied behind him and his clothes were dirty, his face twisted into a scowl. He glowered at the people in the front row, smirking when one of them flinched.

Furihata lowered himself back on his heels and waited for the execution to start. The clock on the tower behind the noose read 2:45pm.

Soon the voices grew hushed as a soldier grabbed Haizaki’s arm and made his way up the wooden steps to the noose. Haizaki was positioned in front of the noose, and a man in white walked up to the stage on the other side. He unrolled a piece of paper and began to read from it. 

“The execution will be taking place at 3pm. The criminal is Haizaki Shougo. He has been found guilty of multiple things-” this caused surprised murmurs among the crowd “-including armed robbery, theft, violent disorder…”

Furihata tuned out for a little bit and let his eyes wander around. Everyone else watched. Momoi watched with uncomfortable curiosity, while Aomine looked almost bored. However, Furihata could see unease on his face too. In fact there was unease on a lot of faces in the crowd. He wondered why they were here if they were uncomfortable with it.

Come to think of it, he was the same as them. Why was he here? Was he trying to prove he wasn’t affected by this? There wasn’t much point in that; everyone who knew him even a little bit knew how jumpy he could be.

His eyes flickered towards the back of the left part of the crowd, and then to the right. A flash of red caught his attention, and he froze. A figure with red hair was standing at the back of the crowd. He didn’t have to look closely to know it was Akashi Seijuurou. 

He tried to avoid looking at him and turned his attention back to the hanging. The man’s speech was just finishing. 

“…when the clock strikes 3pm. Please wait in silence.”

The clock on the tower read 2:55pm. He exchanged a glance with Aomine, who sighed, his breath cloudy in the cold. It was going to be a long five minutes.

The crowd waited, shuffling in their boots to keep warm.

_BONG!_

The noise made Furihata jump. The clock had struck three.

_BONG!_

The soldier made the criminal step forward onto the trapdoor. Haizaki’s teeth were clenched. 

_BONG!_

Furihata didn’t want to watch any more. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. Everyone else stared.

There was a click. A whooshing sound. A sickening, wrenching crack.

Furihata kept his eyes shut for what seemed like ages until Momoi nudged him. “Hey,” she whispered. “Furihata-kun. We’re going back.”

He opened his eyes and saw Haizaki dangling from the noose, his head bent at an awkward angle and his body swaying from side to side, and immediately wished he hadn’t looked. He felt sick and averted his eyes, nodding without a word. Aomine put a hand on his shoulder.

Haizaki would expire in about five minutes, but not everyone stayed for that. The three siblings weren’t the only ones who were leaving. A few others were dispersing as well, and Furihata couldn’t resist another look around. Akashi was gone.

He wondered what would’ve happened if he had told on Akashi’s whereabouts in the woods. Would it be Akashi swaying from the rope behind him instead of Haizaki? Would Furihata have been rewarded? Would he feel as sick as he did right now?

As they neared their house, he concluded he was glad it wasn’t the redhead swinging under the wooden platforms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I add Haizaki to the characters in the tags? I mean, the only thing he really does is die, so probably not, but still.
> 
> After a couple of weeks the updates might get slightly less regular; I'm trying to update every Sunday but as time goes on that might waver a little. Just a heads up.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops this is... pretty much a week late. Haha...  
> I'll put up two chapters to compensate but that also means I don't have any more that I've already written, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the chapter-every-Sunday-thing (I've already broken it anyway goddamn) but anyway here you go.

“Hey. There haven’t been any more reports of theft, have there?”

Furihata looked up in surprise from his work. “N-no, I don’t think so. Why?”

Aomine gave a single nod of satisfaction. “That’s good, then. It’s been a few days since the hanging, so that likely means that Haizaki was definitely the thief.”

The brunet tilted his head. “Was there any doubt?”

His brother shrugged. “I don’t know, but sometimes the police are stupid and there are misunderstandings.” He curled his lip. “They misinterpret information a lot, but I guess they got the right guy this time.”

“Do you… hate the police, Aomine-kun?” Furihata asked hesitantly, putting down the salted steak he was holding.

“Nah, I just think they could be better. A lot better.” Aomine leaned against the counter. “I’m just some guy in their eyes and I wouldn’t make as many mistakes as they did if I was a policeman.” He gave a short, dry laugh.

Furihata looked back down at the salt. Momoi was currently outside with the cart, sorting vegetables for the trip in two days. He and Aomine had been told to salt what little meat they had for storage; it was already late enough and putting it off any longer would have bad consequences. However, Aomine had been more talkative than usual and was slacking. Furihata wondered if he should say something about it.

He finished his current steak and wrapped it in a clean cloth so the flies couldn’t get to it. He picked up his other two finished ones. “I’m taking these out to Momoi-san,” he called to Aomine, who grunted in response and moved back to his own steak.

Furihata almost dropped one of the wrapped pieces on the way out and stumbled while trying to regain his hold. Momoi turned at the noise and smiled briefly in amusement. “Careful with that!”

“Sorry!” He carried the steaks over to her and held them out. She took two and placed them in the cart, pushing the third back into his hands. “That’ll do. You can put the rest in our own storage.” She turned back to the cart, shifting a few small baskets around to clear some more space.

Furihata paused. “Should I help?”

“You are helping!” She gestured to the single steak in his hands. “Just carry on salting the meat we have. There isn’t much left, is there?” He shook his head. “That’s fine, then. Put that in storage and make sure Dai-chan is doing his job.”

The frosted grass crunched under his feet as he turned to leave, but he was called back by his sister. “Oh, Furihata-kun!”

He looked back at her. “What is it?”

“I almost forgot!” She took her hands out of the cart and faced him, taking a few steps forward and fishing into the right pocket of her dress. She took out some coins and dropped them into the chest pocket of his shirt, ignoring his noise of confusion. “You can take a break now, if you want. Could you go out and get a ribbon for me?”

“Huh?” Furihata blinked in surprise, looking down at the coins in his pocket. “Uhm, sure, I guess.” It didn’t sound like much of a “break” as she put it, but he would rather get away from the smell of salt and meat for a bit. “Any preference?”

“Blue, if you can find it. Otherwise just choose something you think would look nice.” He went to protest at this, but she stopped him. “You know what colours I wear! Just find something that matches. The money I gave you should be enough.”

“O-okay.” He glanced down at the steak. “I’ll put this away, then.”

“You do that!” she responded cheerfully, her pink ponytail swaying as she turned back to the food.

Furihata walked around the left side of the house to a small shed nearby, and opened the door. The sides were littered with tools and scraps of metal and cloth and the smell of dust lingered in the air. Three feet in front of the entrance was a trapdoor, which he reached down to open. The pain in his muscles from a few days ago had mostly gone, but he still experienced some aching as he did this. The door opened and revealed some wooden steps. He made his way down carefully, relying on the natural light to see where he was going.

The half-darkness was spread out all over the slightly fresher-smelling room, but fortunately he didn’t have to travel far to get to the place where the meat was hung. Reaching up to the roof, he grasped a thick piece of string hanging from a low beam and tied it tightly to the steak, pulling it to make sure it was firm enough. He let go of the meat and watched it swing slightly in the darkness, before turning and walking back up the steps again, quietly closing the trapdoor.

The cold was getting to him and he quickly closed the door to the shed, backtracking around to the back door and entering the house again. Aomine looked up at him as he entered and raised his eyebrows in greeting, but said nothing.

“I’m going out to buy a ribbon for Momoi-san,” Furihata said, briefly washing his hands at the sink. “I won’t be long.”

“Mhm.” Aomine acknowledged this and went back to preparing the steak.

Furihata left the kitchen and went into the hall, putting his coat and pulling the hood over his head and ears. Swapping the money from his shirt pocket to his coat, he buttoned himself up and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

**

“Buying for a sweetheart, are you?” the unusually-cheerful shopkeeper asked him, a broad grin on his stubbly face.

Furihata blushed slightly and shook his head as he exchanged the money for a turquoise ribbon. “N-no, it’s for my sister.” He clutched the ribbon in his hand and gave a quiet, awkward laugh when the shopkeeper apologised. “Thank you.”

He turned and left the store, shivering slightly as he stepped out into the cold. The store was only about five to ten minutes away from his house; it wouldn’t take him long to get back.

It had warmed up a little since the past few days, but it was still cold as expected from the middle of October. It was… the 16th, right? He couldn’t really remember. It didn’t really matter anyway; they didn’t have any significant event coming up.

A child ran in front of him and he stumbled and almost fell over in surprise. A woman ran after him, muttering a quick apology to Furihata on the way. He regained his balance and watched the little boy, who was zooming around the area with a huge grin on his face. Furihata smiled slightly at the sight. The mother caught him soon after and began talking to him in a hushed, annoyed voice, but Furihata could see that even she was smiling slightly. It was a good day.

He carried on walking, continuing down the path away from the larger groups of people.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he momentarily forgot about the ribbon in his hand. At that moment, a larger gust of wind blew, and he raised his hand to shield his face from the cold. It took him a moment to realise that the ribbon which had been in said hand was no longer there.

He looked around frantically and saw it dancing about in the wind ahead of him, almost as if it was taunting him. God damnit.

Heart pounding, he gritted his teeth and ran to get it before it blew away again, but the wind took it and raised it high above his head. His eyes widened in dismay and he followed it, trying to catch it every time it drifted closer, but to no avail. Occasionally it would float down and rest on the ground, but he could never reach it in time before it was snatched up again by the breeze. He was starting to get tired and his muscles were acting up again, but he didn’t want to return to Momoi with no money and no ribbon. Unfortunately there were barely any people around to assist him, and the ones that were either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

The ribbon drifted close to his hand. Frantically, he surged forward to catch it, but was forcefully halted when his foot got caught on a stone in the ground. With a yelp he lost his balance and fell forward on his hands and knees, grazing his palms on the rough path. It took him a moment to register what had just happened, and he took a few deep breaths. His palms were stinging.

Well, that was probably the end of the ribbon. He sighed hopelessly and glanced ahead of him to see if it was nearby.

A hand was extended towards him. Surprised, he took it, only taking his eyes off the floor when he was firmly on his feet again. “Thank you-”

His voice broke off in a brief choking sound as he came face to face with a familiar redhead about his height.

There was a brief, tense pause. Furihata almost couldn’t breathe. “Um.”

Akashi hadn’t let go of his hand. Instead he turned it over so the back was facing the ground and placed the turquoise ribbon in Furihata’s open palm. “This is yours, correct?”

Furihata’s eyes darted about Akashi’s face as he tried to take in the situation. His mouth was half-open and when he tried to speak, his words stuck in his throat. He just managed to choke out a response. “Y-yes. M-my sister. For her. Um…”

“Then take it.”

The terrified brunet quickly closed his fingers around the ribbon and shoved it into his coat pocket, wondering why he hadn’t done that earlier. He wanted to leave, or at least take a step back, but his limbs seemed to be locked in position. Akashi’s red eyes were partially narrowed in the way that you had no idea what he was thinking. He wore a long black coat somewhat like Furihata’s brown one, buttoned up almost all the way to the top. His trousers were dark grey and a loose red scarf was draped around his neck. His red hair was about the same length as Furihata’s – fringe and all – but noticeably neater and less uneven. He was a little taller than Furihata too, which didn’t help how intimidated Furihata was by him.

Furihata struggled to speak. “T-thank you…”

“Don’t thank me.” Akashi’s words surprised him. “I don’t like being in debt to people. Don’t lose the ribbon again.”

Without saying another word, he brushed past Furihata, leaving him standing there staring at nothing with wide, scared eyes.

It took a moment before he could move. “I-” Furihata whirled around, but Akashi was already walking away. His head spun in confusion. Debt? What? Why did he… what? Furihata stared at the floor. His head felt like it was made of question marks.

Well… at least he had his ribbon back. He took it out of his pocket and examined it. Fortunately it wasn’t noticeably dirty. Still slightly dazed, Furihata put the ribbon back and carried on walking home, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Akashi watched him go.


	5. Chapter Five

There was no doubt that he was the one who had been stumbling around in the forest earlier. It had been too dark to see properly but he had the same tremor in his voice and the same nervous eyes, the same messy hair – although granted it was neater than it had been in the woods when he was covered in leaves and dirt. Turning his head, Akashi carried on walking.

 _You weren’t really in debt to him,_ something told him. _You wouldn’t have gotten caught that simply. He just made it easier for you._

Akashi acknowledged this silently, but the boy’s decision to keep quiet about his whereabouts had been unexpected. He may have just been easily intimidated, but it was still surprising.

He didn’t even know his name, but he had a feeling he would find out soon. In fact, he had a feeling there was more to the skittish boy than met the eye.

***

The piercing sound of bells rang through the streets, stealing everyone’s attention away from whatever they were doing. Furihata jumped and almost dropped his spoon and Momoi came hurrying down the stairs with a worried expression on her face, Aomine following suit.

They were the church bells. They weren’t playing a tune like they did when calling people out for prayers; just one note of the same pitch, slowly, one after the other.

_BONG… BONG… BONG…_

Aomine frowned. “That’s the signal for the townspeople to meet in the main square.”

Momoi looked a bit confused for a moment, but she pulled herself together. “We need to get going, then! I can’t remember the last time I heard the bells chime like this. It could be important.”

Furihata stopped stirring milk and put down the spoon. “Are you sure you don’t need to spend the time getting ready for your trip, Momoi-san?”

“I’ll be fine, everything’s pretty much ready! I’m leaving tomorrow; there’s still time.” Momoi grabbed her coat and put it on in a hurry. “Furihata-kun, leave the milk for now.”

He got up from his chair, put away the milk and yanked on his coat, while Aomine did the same with his shorter one. After making sure there was nothing left lying around, they quickly exited the house. It was a windy day and a gust slammed the door shut behind them.

Outside there were people slowly moving into the street, hushed whispers drifting between them. The wind blew and Furihata had to pull his hood up so his hair wouldn’t go everywhere, even though there was no rain. Momoi’s hair was in a bun, but she did the same. Aomine, however, didn’t seem to care.

They kept catching sight of their neighbours and greeting them, but not with much enthusiasm. They were too preoccupied with what the announcement could be. The main square was quite far away compared to the others, and larger, too. In every town associated with the kingdom there was a kind of “royal ambassador”, who alerted the neighbourhood of incidents in the centre city and the royal family. There hadn’t been any news for a while, so everyone was curious.

After a while of walking with the rest of the townspeople and squinting from the wind, they reached the main square.

Being on the edge of the town, they were among the last to arrive. The crowd was a lot larger than the gathering which had witnessed Haizaki’s execution – and with considerably more children too, understandably. They all stood facing a large, rectangular building at the back of the square; the ambassador’s place of residence, the Southwest Tower, although it wasn’t much of a tower. At the front of the first floor stood a balcony, where the dark shape of a person stood, glancing over the crowd as everyone arrived. Two people stood on either side of him, seemingly members of the army or police.

They had to wait a little longer before the speaker decided enough people were here. He raised his hand, a signal for quiet.

“People of South-Western Seirida,” he began, “I am here to address some saddening news.”

The audience watched with wide, inquisitive eyes.

He cleared his throat. “Last night, our country’s king passed away in his sleep.” A few horrified gasps swept through the crowd, but he continued to speak over them. “He had been ill for a while, but his rule remained strong. Respects will be paid on the 12th of November, in 27 days. Attendance to your local churches is much preferred, but not compulsory.” He bowed his head. “News on the new ruler will be announced within the next few days. Thank you for listening. You are dismissed.”

He turned and was escorted back inside the building by his guards.

As soon as he left, everyone started speaking to each other at once.

“How old was he?”

“What illness killed him?”

“I wonder how the queen is taking this. I heard she was pretty frail herself.”

Furihata was shocked, and by the looks of it, so were his siblings. They had heard the king was ill from rumours passed from town to town, but they hadn’t guessed that it was life-threatening. They exchanged a few wordless glances. Momoi’s eyes were wide with surprise, Aomine’s face in an uneasy, thoughtful frown.

It did raise an important question: who would the successor be? As far as anyone knew, the king had no sons or daughters. They would have to look among the extended family, which also seemed to be far from large.

Aomine spoke first. “If nobody’s gonna say anything, we should leave.”

“Alright,” Momoi said, her voice less strong than usual. Furihata nodded wordlessly in agreement.

The three of them turned around and began to make the journey back home, along with several other people who had also decided it was time to leave.

None of them spoke on the way home. Lost in his thoughts, Furihata almost tripped over several times from not looking where he was going, and even didn’t notice where they were until they were walking up the path to the house. He slowed his pace until he had stopped, hovering there awkwardly.

Momoi opened the door, then seemed to realise Furihata wasn’t with them. She looked back down the path. “Furihata-kun? What’s wrong?”

 “…Nothing.” He hesitated. “Um, is it okay if I go for a quick walk? Just down the path through the forest. I won’t go far.”

“Sure.” Momoi gave him a brief nod and a smile. “Don’t be too long!”

His siblings entered the house and closed the door. Furihata stood there for a moment longer before turning around and retracing his footsteps to the beginning of their path and began to walk along the road next to the woods.

Before the forest could thicken out to the point of being hard to navigate, he veered off down a man-trodden path in the grass. The forest was thinner here, and nicer to look at rather than the overgrown tangle of bushes and dead leaves and branches further on. It was easier to navigate too; every time he looked back he could tell where he had come from and what route he needed to take to get home, even if he veered off the faint track. He wasn’t really going anywhere, just wandering. The half-leaved trees covered the grey sky, and a couple of birds tweeted in the distance as his feet crunched on the leaves and twigs on the forest floor.

Aimlessly wandering, he didn’t notice the trees begin to thin out as he walked. However, when he did realise, he also noticed he could see something tall and brown ahead of him, like some kind of house. The sight surprised him; this wasn’t even the outskirts anymore, this was the woods. Who would live out here? Was the house abandoned?

He slowed his pace and edged closer to the house. Surprisingly it wasn’t terribly run down, but signs of minor damage were showing. He appeared to be at the back of it, at the beginning of a moderate-sized clearing decorated with two fallen trees – one noticeably smaller than the other – plus some kind of natural pond close to where he was standing, shrouded in reeds and positioned next to a large tree. After taking in the scenery, he ventured into the clearing and began to carefully make his way around the side of the house to the main part of the open space.

He peered round the corner of the house, and wasn’t prepared for the sight he saw.

First of all, Akashi was there. Sure, why not.

Second of all, his arm was out in front of him, bent at the elbow, his palm flat, vertical and facing away from him, as if he were resting it on a wall. And just a centimetre or so away from his palm, the air shimmered and occasionally flashed with colours that weren’t part of the surrounding scenery at all. It looked like an effect of the heat, like when metal gets extremely hot in summer and produces a shimmer just above the surface, but this was more noticeable and dancing. Colours flashed and glowed – a bright yellow, a deep blue, a striking red – there were occasionally pure black and white intervals, too. All the while, Akashi stared into this swirling vortex, fixed on whatever he was looking at inside the thing.

Eventually, the shimmering patch began to fade, and Furihata regained control of his limbs. His mind a jumble of thoughts, he turned to sprint away from the clearing and never come back, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“I know you’re there. Come back.”

He froze, a feeling of dread running up his spine. Slowly, he turned around to find Akashi staring straight at him, his red eyes as unreadable as ever. For a moment Furihata thought he caught a hint of another colour in Akashi’s left eye, but it was gone after he blinked.

He moved forward and tried to keep his legs from shaking, but to no avail. Akashi walked over to the smaller fallen tree and sat down on it, then spoke again. “Come here.”

Furihata obeyed. He didn’t think he would’ve been able to say no even if he tried.

He was standing in front of Akashi, who looked up at him and narrowed his eyes distastefully, pointing at the spot on the tree next to him. “Sit.”

Furihata did.

Now that he was on the same level as Akashi, the redhead’s eyes lost their harsh stare. They still looked cold, but also curious.

Akashi addressed him. “Who are you?”

“H-huh?” Furihata started. “Uhm… F-Furihata Kouki.” His voice wavered as he spoke.

“Mhm.” Akashi didn’t look surprised, as if he already knew. “Why are you here?”

“I-I just happened to… f-find this place.” He swallowed nervously. “I was g-going for a walk.”

Again, not much surprise showed on the other guy’s face. “And did you-”

Words burst out of Furihata’s mouth before he could stop them. “Are you a witch?”

His eyes widened, realising that he’d just interrupted Akashi. Instinctively he raised his arms and covered his face with his hands to block Akashi from view and protect himself just in case he’d made a seriously bad move. “I… S…Sor…”

“Put your arms down. I’m not a witch.”

After a few shaky seconds, Furihata lowered his arms. Akashi’s expression had barely changed – a hint of amusement flickered across his face briefly but it was gone as soon as it had arrived. After a moment he said “Witches are different. If you must define it, I’m more like a sorcerer.”

 _Isn’t that the same thing?_ Furihata wondered, but didn’t say it aloud. Instead he just nodded quickly in response.

“They’re not the same,” Akashi said, making him jump. “Witches are born from a bloodline, and their abilities are evident in the first few years of their lives. They usually live longer than normal humans, too.” Furihata stared at him, trying to absorb all this information. “Sorcerers, on the other hand, can be born from anyone. Their abilities take longer to be realised and some even go through their entire lives without knowing them. Their lifespan is also like that of a human. However,” he continued, and his eyes seemed to bore into Furihata as he said this, “sorcerers are much more powerful than witches.”

Furihata gulped. _What have I gotten myself into?_

“W-why… why are you telling me all this?” he asked quietly, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Akashi simply responded with, “You’re not going to tell anyone.”  

Ah. He was right. Furihata’s stomach twisted. He didn’t know exactly why, but he knew he would never repeat Akashi’s words to anyone, not even Momoi and Aomine.

He briefly wondered if Akashi had casted some kind of spell on him, but the thought vanished when Akashi said, “I didn’t cast a spell on you,” the second after he thought it. He stared at the redhead with wide eyes and shifted, feeling more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. He wondered if this guy could read minds, but he doubted it. Either way, he seemed to know what was going through his head and it was extremely unsettling. Did that mean he knew he was uncomfortable? Uncomfortable and terrified? Uncomfortable, terrified and confused?

Furihata shivered. It wasn’t from fright, he realised. The sky was getting slightly darker and the surroundings were just slightly tinted with orange from the weak sun. He was cold.

He stood up in a hurry. “I-I should go. It’s u-um… Late.” He then wondered if suddenly jumping up like that had been a bad idea, but Akashi just stood up too and said “Goodbye, then.”

Furihata took a few steps back, keeping his eyes on him, before turning and walking quickly and shakily out of the clearing.

Which way was home again? A path there, a couple of knotted trees… okay, he was pretty sure he had a grasp on his surroundings now.

He thought about what had just happened as he hurried home. There was a sorcerer living in the forest, and he wasn’t sure how far Akashi was from his house but it was too close for comfort. He wouldn’t have told Momoi and Aomine about this even without Akashi saying this would happen; he didn’t want them to think he was running into him on purpose. But, he reflected, their words about the… sorcerer… hadn’t been that far off. He was cold, straightforward and confident. He had an aura of power, but it wasn’t strong enough to scare Furihata away completely. Besides, it didn’t frighten him so much anymore. A sudden jolt made him realise that this was probably not a good thing.

He ignored any thoughts of visiting Akashi again and pulled his hood over his ears, quickening his pace towards home.


	6. Chapter Six

The bells rang again two days later in the same fashion. 

As they made their way down to the square, they were joined by a black-haired girl who asked if they were going to church later that day. It was a Saturday after all; the services wouldn’t be held until the afternoon, so there would likely be time after the gathering to go. She looked surprised to see Momoi, who was walking stiffly with her cheeks puffed up slightly in annoyance. Her trip had been postponed because of a sudden bout of rain the day earlier which had made the paths too muddy and slippery to attempt to travel long distances.

“Oh, that’s a shame!” The girl frowned. Momoi added that she wasn’t postponing it for more than two days, even if it rained again. She would try to set out today if possible as the paths were beginning to dry. 

The messenger on the tower appeared to be the same one as before, standing in front of the doors to the balcony with two people beside him yet again. He glanced around before seemingly verifying enough people were there – Furihata briefly wondered how he knew since a couple of spots in the square were out of his vision – and then raised his hand for silence.

He greeted the crowd the same way as he had a couple of days ago before continuing. “I have come to inform you of your new ruler.” 

A brief, excited murmuring ran through the crowd. Furihata closely listened and he felt a couple of people behind him lean forward eagerly.

“It has been decided.” He turned his body slightly and gestured to the doors behind him with an outstretched arm. “Please welcome: your new ruler, Queen Aida Riko!”

He stood to the side with the other guards and the doors behind him opened as the hearty sound of trumpets rang through the air, making Furihata start. He and everyone else stared up at the open doors as the trumpets blared, and when they had finished, three figures walked out of the tower.

The two on the sides were both tall males, and they quickly joined the others at the sides. The third figure, however, was much smaller and clearly female. Her robes were red, white and black, although it was hard to tell exactly what they were like from far away. Her hair was short, much shorter than most of the women in Furihata’s neighbourhood, and she walked with confidence and purpose. Even from here he could see her expression – her mouth was set into an unsmiling line and her eyes were hard and judging as she observed the crowd. Any surprised whispers at the mention of a female ruler had died down when they saw her gaze.

And all at once, her frown vanished, the hard look in her eyes relaxed and her mouth flicked upwards into a confident smile. She stood at the very edge of the balcony by the railing. “Greetings, everyone!”

After staring for a couple of seconds, the crowd slowly lowered their heads in respect.

“Raise your heads!” Everyone obeyed. “Many of you may not know me. I should introduce myself. As your messenger has said, my name is Aida Riko. I am the King’s niece, and I have been chosen as the next ruler of Seidria.”

Her voice was loud and clear. Furihata heard Momoi hum beside him. “Mm, not bad.”

“My uncle’s passing has been shaking, but although we will grieve, dwelling on it will serve no purpose. Seirida is a strong country, and I am glad to pledge myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. I hope I will be able to serve you as your Queen for a great many years.”

A few hushed noises of approval sounded from the people nearby, and Furihata felt himself smile. 

“She looks quite flat,” Momoi contemplated in a hushed voice. He shot her a panicked stare while wondering how she could even tell from here. “That’s disrespectful, Momoi-san!” His sister just giggled and Furihata hoped nobody had been listening to her.

Queen Aida Riko continued speaking. “I am well aware of the problems in this country, as are you, I am sure. This winter will be tough, but it is nothing we cannot overcome. However,” she said, and her voice seemed to gain a darker edge to it as she continued, “recently, I have received reports of a thief in this area. He has been caught and executed, but I will inform you that these actions against the people of Seirida will not be tolerated in the coming years of my reign. If anyone dares to act against our people in this way, especially in a coming time of need like this, they will be dealt with by my army and I without mercy.” 

The crowd had gone silent. Furihata could see several emotions on the faces of the people nearby – mostly stunned fear and respect. Even Aomine looked slightly impressed, although his face showed mostly scepticism. Momoi was watching with interest, her eyes narrowed in thought. 

The Queen’s voice became warmer again. “I understand you all have businesses to attend to. I will not keep you any longer.” She raised her voice. “I thank you all for listening, may you all be blessed, and I hope you have an exceptional day!”

She gave the entire crowd a nod of her head, and as the resulting applause rang through the square, she turned and was escorted back through the doors while the guards followed. They vanished from view, and it was just the messenger once more.

“You are dismissed,” he called, and the crowd began to disperse.

Furihata, Aomine and Momoi exchanged glances before turning and beginning to walk back the way they’d come.

“So,” Aomine remarked as they walked. “A queen, huh. When was the last time Seirida had a queen as its sole ruler?”

Momoi shrugged. “A long time ago, probably. But we wouldn’t know much about it; we only moved here recently from Touland, after all.”

“Mhm.”

“The King’s wife is still alive, though. Couldn’t she have taken the position?”

Furihata spoke up quietly. “She’s old, I think. Maybe she just decided to pass the position over to someone else.”

Momoi nodded thoughtfully. “Queen Aida looks about our age; she’s definitely young enough. And the King was the main ruler, so the former Queen stepping down wouldn’t really be counted as abdication. But she didn’t abdicate, and she’s still… there.” She frowned. “That doesn’t mean we have two queens now, does it?”

“Don’t break your brain,” Aomine growled. “Queen Aida is the new ruler now. The old queen isn’t. It’s not that hard.”

Momoi tried to elbow him, but he dodged without much effort. She turned away with a “hmph” and carried on walking without saying anything else.

They walked in silence for a while until Furihata cleared his throat. “So… are we going to church?”

“Oh! Right! Yes, we are, I almost forgot!” Momoi looked down at her clothes, then at Furihata’s, then at Aomine’s. She frowned. “Dai-chan, button up your shirt properly, don’t just leave the top two buttons undone! You can’t go into Church like that!” In response, Aomine grunted and buttoned up his coat over the shirt. His sister sighed in exasperation. Her breath looked misty in the cold air, and Furihata pulled his coat closer around himself.

The church wasn’t that far away and they arrived in about five minutes. The church clock read about 3:35 pm, so the services would start in 25 minutes. There were already several people hovering around the entrance, some chatting or occasionally seeing someone they knew and hurrying over to greet them. It appeared to be closed at the moment, but it would open soon; they were just getting the preparations ready as usual.

Momoi spotted her black-haired friend from earlier and quickened her pace, waving excitedly. Aomine just rolled his eyes and followed, and Furihata bit his lip slightly to stop himself from laughing at the exasperation on his brother’s face.

Neither he nor Aomine were on very close terms with anyone in the neighbourhood apart from Momoi, but for different reasons. In Aomine’s case he was antisocial and didn’t really care for interaction unless it was to do with a job, and whenever he talked to anyone he always looked bored. His disinterest made it hard to hold a conversation with him. Furihata, on the other hand, would’ve liked to get to know some of the people in his neighbourhood properly – if he could, at least. Like Aomine he found it hard to hold conversation, but in his case he just found it difficult to find things to say. He was also too nervous to initiate a conversation half the time, and not many people wanted to talk to someone with a constant hint of unease on their face. 

Well, he had lived in Touland with Momoi and Aomine until a year or so ago – he may just be taking longer to settle in. He hoped, at least.

Speaking of Momoi, that girl was the complete opposite of him and Aomine. She was a social butterfly, flitting different people as they arrived and greeting them cheerfully while her siblings watched from the side-lines. She seemed to know over half the people there and Furihata wondered how many people she saw and talked to on a regular basis. She was being more social than usual however, probably because she’d been getting ready for her trip for the past week or so and hadn’t had much time to talk her friends. She had an air of warmth about her, although her forward attitude would sometimes scare people off. 

Eventually the flow of people she knew subsided and she joined her friend from earlier once again. Furihata and Aomine had some snippets of a conversation occasionally, mostly on the time and Momoi’s behaviour (“Momoi-san is so cheerful with everyone” “Yeah, I don’t know how they stand it”) until the doors opened after about ten minutes.

They filed into the church. Some chose their seats in the pews already, generally people who had come on their own, but most of them stood at the back and carried on talking although their voices had lowered so they wouldn’t echo. Furihata looked around the church, turning around so he could have a good look at everything. He and his siblings didn’t go to Church as much as other people did since it wasn’t compulsory and they didn’t really see themselves as the religious type, so every time they did go he would scan the surroundings and see how much he remembered from last time. He noted that one of the pews had been scratched rather noticeably by something, and a few of the candles by the windows had been moved around. He glanced at a stone near his right foot and nudged it into the corner with his toe.

An elderly woman was talking to Aomine, so Furihata decided to stay with Momoi for the time being. He hovered nearby and listened to her and her friend’s conversation. Momoi appeared to be talking about her trip, but stopped when she noticed Furihata.

“Oh, hey Furihata-kun!” she said cheerfully, turning to face him. “I mentioned this earlier: I’ll be setting out on my trip today, no matter the weather. I was planning to go around this time, so I’ll probably go before the service starts.” She looked a little sheepish. “I’ll tell Dai-chan in a minute, then I’ll leave.”

Furihata blinked in surprise. “That soon?”

She nodded. “Sorry about the short notice. Apparently it’s going to get pretty cold over the next few days, so I may as well go when I can.” She stepped forward and pulled him into a tight, brief hug. “I’ll go and get stuff ready. You may see me when you get back, if I haven’t already left.”

He hugged her back and nodded as they stepped apart. Having her around was comforting – he would miss her, even if it was just for a few days. She smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder before hurrying away to say goodbye to Aomine.

Furihata looked back to find that her friend had already gone to talk to someone else. He had a feeling he would never understand social people like that.

A few priests and devout citizens were lingering at the sides of the church, clothed in black and white robes, some with their hoods up. A few were lighting the candles, others just standing and waiting for the service to start. 

He tried not to stare too much, but his gaze became fixed on one particular figure in the corner. The corner was too dark to see them properly, and as the room began to brighten from the candles the hooded figure turned and disappeared through a side door in the church.

Although he hadn’t gotten a clear view of the person, the brief glimpse was enough to make his mouth go dry. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about them.

“Oi, Furihata!” He jumped and spun around to see Aomine beckoning to one of the pews at the back. “Satsuki has gone. The service is starting. Hurry up.”

He stared for a few seconds before mentally shaking himself out of his dazed state. Swallowing, he nodded. “O-okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was a little off, I was pretty tired when I was editing so I may have missed some stuff. Also I may or may not have deleted the author's notes at the beginning and I don't remember what I wrote so I guess they're gone forever unless I decide to put something else there, whoops;;
> 
> But we have a new character now - Riko is here! I love Riko. She is my queen. Or everyone's queen, in this story at least.
> 
> Until next time!


	7. Chapter Seven

Momoi had been right; the past few days had been noticeably colder than before. When Furihata had looked outside that morning, the ground and fallen leaves were coated in a thin layer of frost and the weak sun was just beginning to emerge over the trees, but he barely noticed a change in temperature when it rose fully. Now the frost was beginning to melt away, but it was still nippy and cold.

Yesterday morning, the army had been looking for another thief. Later that evening the town had received word that the thief, or at least a suspect, had been caught, and was being held for interrogation. The whole process seemed to have gone a lot smoother than in previous times – it seemed as though Queen Riko had been serious about cracking down on crime in the area. The thought made Furihata smile slightly through his chattering teeth.

They had almost finished preserving and storing their food for the winter, and with Momoi gone they didn’t have to prepare for the trip anymore. However, even with the lack of things to do, Furihata couldn’t explain why he had gotten the impulse to do what he was currently doing.

He retraced his steps from the week earlier and picked a path which would lead him to the clearing. It wasn’t the quickest path; he was still nervous and wasn’t in any hurry to get there.

He wasn’t completely sure why he was visiting Akashi again, but it was partly… curiosity. Aside from tales and the rare burning at the stake, Furihata was very unfamiliar with sorcerers and witches, and to be faced with a real one so suddenly filled his mind with questions. Although he had been briefed by Akashi on the general idea of them, he was certain there was more. 

What was it like, being a sorcerer? He wouldn’t know anything of it.

Furihata pressed on. Earlier he would’ve been too scared to even think about going anywhere near Akashi’s place again, but it seemed his fear had quelled just enough for him to attempt it.

Nevertheless, he knew his teeth weren’t just chattering from the cold. 

He approached the clearing from the front this time, unlike before where the first thing he’d seen was the back of the house. When he began to make out the house through the bare branches, his pace slowed and he hovered around the area for a little bit, still hesitant. He wrapped his arms around himself, took a deep breath, straightened himself up and carried on walking. 

He braced himself to walk in on another supernatural scene like before, but instead Akashi was nowhere in sight.

Come to think of it, Furihata shouldn’t have assumed he would always be in the clearing. It wasn’t like he slept there. He was probably just in his house. 

Glancing quickly towards the building, he wondered if he should check it to see if Akashi was there, but quickly decided against it. It would be an intrusion, and he wasn’t THAT desperate to see the sorcerer.

The only other option was to turn around and leave again. Letting out the breath of air he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and feeling a sense of relief settle in his chest, Furihata turned and took a few steps in the direction that he’d came in.

Something caught his eye.

Furihata stopped and glanced over his shoulder, then turned around fully to get a better look. He peered through the bushes. A sliver of red was showing through the bare twigs, and he took a few paces forward to see it clearer. 

As his viewing angle changed, Furihata was suddenly able to make out a figure where he was staring. The figure was slightly hunched over, huddled against the trunk of a tree with no movement observable from Furihata’s position. The shape was leaning on the tree from the side, its legs drawn up and its head bent over its knees, with the arms curled loosely around its legs.

It was Akashi, no doubt. Furihata started towards him, hesitantly at first, then breaking into a half-run. He stumbled over one of the fallen trees in the clearing and slowed down out of caution so he didn’t fall over. Furihata slowed to a timid pace as he neared the shape, making his way around the roots and branches while watching his feet for stray roots. He came to a stop and stared down at the bent figure, his teeth beginning to chatter again. 

“A-Akashi-san?”

The figure stirred. Akashi raised his head and his red eyes settled on Furihata’s face, blinking slowly and blankly until he focused on him. A flicker of surprise crossed his gaze, but it was soon gone. He made a shaky noise of greeting, but said nothing and brought his hand up to brush his fringe out of his face.

With a jolt, Furihata then noticed a smear of red across his forehead. _Blood…_ “Y-you’re bleeding!”

A dark scarlet scratch lay just above Akashi’s eyebrow and to the left of his face. The bleeding seemed to have slowed down, but it was still slowly trickling down his cheek. He glanced down at his stained fingers without any clear expression and then began to stand up, ignoring the wound on his head. 

It was clear that the wound wasn’t as bad as Furihata had initially thought, but it was still making him worried. How had it even happened?

Akashi swayed slightly as he stood and Furihata almost reached out to help him, but he quickly regained his balance. After stretching, Akashi sighed. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

He turned and walked past the shaking boy towards the clearing, and Furihata followed nervously. Once they were past the undergrowth and on the grass, Akashi said “Stay there. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He walked away from the other boy, towards the house, opened the door and disappeared inside.

Furihata shuffled from foot to foot until Akashi returned, his face cleaned and looking more alert than he had earlier. He gestured to the fallen tree where they had conversed earlier and said “Sit.”

He obeyed. Akashi sat next to him.

It was question time. Drawing in a shaky breath, Furihata started with “What… happened?”

“I was doing a spell,” Akashi answered calmly. “Accidents happen.”

So he wasn’t going to go into details. He should’ve expected that, but now he wasn’t sure what else to say. To top it off, Akashi was looking at him expectantly as if he should continue the conversation. 

Furihata could feel his mind spinning as the silence between them lengthened. He really shouldn’t have come. “U-um…” He said the first thing that came to mind. “W-what are your spells l-like?” Shit. That sounded really stupid.

Akashi was looking at him with slight amusement – was it amusement? – in his eyes and Furihata could feel the blood rushing to his face. He wished he could just sink into the floor right then and there from embarrassment.

“They are all based around visions of the future.” He tried to ignore his discomfort and listen. “To see the visions you have to have a substance that isn’t solid, like air, water or fire, since they can change easily into different images. This shouldn’t be too surprising to you, since you have already seen it. Ordinary people can catch glimpses of the spells, but will never see the real thing.” He paused to brush his fringe out of the way of his scratch before continuing. “If a sorcerer is able to advance their skills of sight beyond this, they will be able to see visions just with a thought, without the aid of any of these things.”

Furihata’s mind was spinning again. “So… you can see the future?”

Akashi stopped to think. “You could say that. I can see what will happen with the way the current events are progressing, but it can be altered if someone does something to change it. However, that will only happen if they know how things will turn out without doing this.” Seeing Furihata’s confused expression, he added “You can’t change the future if you don’t know what it is.”

 _That… makes sense, I guess,_ he thought. So contrary to what some people had told him in the past, destiny could be changed. He decided not to think too hard about that.

Akashi still appeared to be expecting something else. He had one more question. “B-before, when you told me about sorcerers… you said that some can go their entire lives without being aware of their powers…” He swallowed. “How did you become aware of yours?”

The sorcerer appeared to be collecting his thoughts before speaking. “I had exceptional eyesight and observational skills as a child,” he began, pausing once more. “I was also a lot more intelligent than the others around me, and didn’t get involved with them much. I was about nine or ten when I discovered my abilities – calling them powers sounds childish.” Furihata felt a pang of embarrassment when he said this. “I saw my first vision in water by accident. Obviously I wasn’t prepared, and I passed out when it finished. Afterwards I wanted to see if I could do it again, and gradually became better and stopped fainting as often when they happened.”

He could be surprisingly talkative, it seemed, and he still had that commanding air which almost forced you to listen to him. Furihata was taking in everything and not spacing out at all.

A thought occurred to him. “Um… had you fainted when I found you earlier?” He winced inwardly at his own words. Damn, he had spoken without thinking properly again.

Akashi didn’t look pleased at the question, but to Furihata’s surprise he answered anyway. “…I had. It happens when I have very vivid visions, usually when I am trying to enhance my abilities.”

Enhancing, huh… Furihata’s eyes had been continuously glancing at the wound on Akashi’s forehead throughout the conversation, but now he realised that there were others on his face too. Most were long-faded and pale, but still visible. There was a seemingly more recent one on his right cheek, and several old ones on his forehead close to his eyes, in similar places to where his newest one was. He wondered just how many times he had collapsed and injured himself; there was one across the bridge of his nose, another and what looked like a series of tiny burns scattered across his jawline which you wouldn’t notice unless you looked carefully…

He suddenly realised Akashi had been sitting there silently while Furihata had been intently examining his face for too long than was normal. _Oh._ Catching himself, he quickly moved his eyes off to the side, the ground and the sky, before stuttering “U-um, I should get back, my brother will wonder-”

“No,” Akashi stated simply, causing Furihata’s voice to catch abruptly in his throat. “You will assist me for a short while.”

Furihata stared at him. “W-wh…”

“I answered your questions. If you left now, it would be rude of you.”

 _…W-what? What does he mean?_ Furihata’s mind raced as Akashi stood up – he wondered if he should get up to follow him, but the redhead rested his hand on his shoulder for a moment and Furihata’s stomach twisted as he suddenly didn’t feel like moving at all.

Akashi walked away from him, back towards the spot where he’d collapsed, until Furihata could barely see him through the bushes. He seemed to be kneeling down for something, and when he stood back up again he was holding something semi-flat and circular in his hands. After examining it he then stepped back into the clearing through the bushes and made his way over to Furihata once again.

“Stand up,” he said, and Furihata did. “Hold this.”

The brunet took the object – a bowl – from him with shaking fingers and tried to steady himself. He gripped it and then realised that it was half-filled with water and tried to keep his arms even steadier as not to spill any of it, even though it wasn’t filled to the brim. 

“I was using this earlier,” Akashi explained. “All you need to do is hold it, and keep it as steady as you can.”

Furihata nodded quickly. Akashi stood close and bent his head over the bowl, staring down at the water. His fringe fell in front of his face and he brushed it away, looking slightly irritated.

“Maybe… maybe you should cut that?” Furihata ventured, and then mentally slapped himself when Akashi raised his head, the same irritation on his face. “I-I mean, you don’t have to, I just thought-”

“Of course I don’t have to.” His cold tone made the other boy’s mouth clamp shut. “But you can cut it for me. The scissors are in my house, they’re not hard to miss.”

Akashi took the bowl from him and Furihata almost tripped over his own feet while turning away from him towards the house. He was thankful that the clearing was a reasonable size; otherwise crossing the distance to the house would’ve taken longer and been much more awkward.

He hesitantly turned the door knob. The door swung open. Taking his time, he stepped inside, glancing from side to side to make sure there was nothing scary lying around, and then looking at the house more calmly. 

It was wooden and not very large, but not in a claustrophobic way. It appeared that there were only a couple of rooms plus a small flight of stairs leading upstairs to what he guessed was an attic or something of the sort. It was visibly old, but not falling apart, in fact it looked quite well looked-after and it was a lot more normal than he had expected.

There was a seemingly bigger room leading off to the side, but Furihata didn’t need to go in there. He could already see the scissors – dull red ones – lying on a small table near the door. Akashi had been right when he said he couldn’t miss them.

He took them, almost dropped them, and after one last glance around, exited the house and shut the door behind him. Akashi was sitting on the tree trunk and stirring the water idly with one finger.

Once Furihata had reached him, he stood up again and put the bowl down. “Be quick.”

Furihata inhaled and then exhaled through his nose. He had to be sure not to tremble too much while doing this or things could go horribly wrong.

He leaned in and took part of Akashi’s fringe in his fingers, then brought the scissors to it, trying to control his shaky breathing. Gulping, he quickly snapped the scissors shut, hearing the snipping sound as Akashi’s hair came free.

He stood with the lock of hair for a couple of seconds, wondering what to do with it, until Akashi told him to drop it on the ground. He did, and then went back to cutting the rest.

It was easier than he had thought it would be – plus, Akashi had his eyes closed so the red irises weren’t staring him down and making him feel more nervous than he already was. He looked a lot more relaxed with his eyes closed and Furihata was beginning to calm down a little more as he finished cutting his fringe.

He stood back. “It’s done.”

“Good.” Akashi opened his eyes and raised his hand to feel where the remainder of his fringe was. He looked relatively satisfied, but said nothing about it.

“Hold the bowl again.” Furihata did as he was told after placing the scissors on the fallen tree and they resumed the setup from earlier, with Akashi leaning over the bowl and Furihata trying not to spill the water. The sorcerer didn’t look irritated now that his fringe was out of the way, and he stared into the water intently, a look of close concentration on his face. 

For a few moments, nothing happened.

Then Furihata almost dropped the bowl as he saw Akashi’s left eye start to glow. At first it became a bright, glimmering red, but as he stared into the water for longer it changed to a strong, burning gold, reflecting on the water’s surface and shining brighter and brighter. 

Furihata’s eyes were wide and it took all his willpower to keep himself and the bowl steady. He noticed Akashi starting to shake and wondered if he should help him, but Akashi raised a hand and Furihata stayed where he was, waiting.

What happened next was so alarming that the bowl slipped in Furihata’s hands and he very nearly dropped it. Akashi’s head snapped up and his heterochromatic eyes stared into Furihata’s brown ones with intensity so strong that the brunet was sure his knees were going to give way. Akashi’s hand shot up and grabbed the sleeve of Furihata’s upper arm, seemingly for support, and the other one did the same shortly after. 

He stared back in fear, confusion and awe, unable to look away. If there was something happening in the water, he wouldn’t have known. The hands on his sleeves tightened briefly before Akashi let him go. Akashi’s head fell slightly forward, breaking the eye contact. He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them once again, the intensity fading. The yellow hue stayed for a little longer before fading away, and his eyes returned to their normal state.

Furihata was still frozen in place, just watching Akashi as he closed his eyes, then opened them, then closed them, then opened them again. Akashi looked into the water for a couple more seconds – Furihata was amazed that the bowl hadn’t fallen by now – and then a triumphant smile broke out across his face.

“Good…” His voice sounded weak but pleased. “Good. This is very good.” He took the bowl and Furihata was all too happy to let it go. “I made significant progress. You did well, Kouki.”

“H-huh?!”

Akashi fixed him with his red gaze. “I haven’t managed this much progress before in one session.” He raised his palm to the air briefly and looked at it for a few seconds before taking it away. “My sight is stronger now. Just a few more sessions.”

Furihata tried to get past the fact that Akashi had referred to him by his first name and managed to stutter out “T-t-till what?”

Akashi didn’t answer. Instead he just turned to Furihata and said with that same commanding tone, “Come again tomorrow.”

Furihata stared at him, feeling dread beginning to settle in his chest. He really shouldn’t have come, he should just shake his head and refuse, say he had things to do…

Instead, he found himself giving a tiny nod of agreement. “A... alright.”

At this response, Akashi’s smile grew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, sorry this was a little late, I wasn't satisfied with it for ages,,
> 
> Thanks for commenting and giving kudos! 20 kudos is quite something for me haha, especially since the story hasn't been up all that long.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there is a spider in this chapter, a little after Furihata gets home. Putting a notice here just in case.

When he had said he was going out again that morning, Aomine had raised his eyebrows inquisitively but hadn’t questioned him, only acknowledged his words with a grunt. He mentioned that he had another job that afternoon and Furihata may come back to an empty house.

He had decided to go to Akashi’s at around the same time he had gone yesterday. The sorcerer had been waiting for him, not hunched over by a tree this time; instead he appeared to be spinning the air into a distorted spiral with his finger. His eye was glowing slightly as he stared at the flashing colours – which were obviously visions to him – but the golden light was nowhere near as bright as it had been the day before. He seemed to sense Furihata’s arrival and shut off the vortex and turned around to greet him.

Today’s task had been with the bowl of water again, but this time Akashi had actually collapsed and Furihata had staggered briefly under his weight, trying to stop him from falling completely before the sorcerer regained control of his body. They tried again, more successfully that time, and Akashi’s foresight had seemingly improved. 

They sat on the tree as usual, when Akashi said something unexpected.

“I want to use my sight on you. Is that okay?”

Furihata started. “U-um… you mean seeing my future?”

“Yes. Or just gaining information about you.”

He shifted uncomfortably, feeling uneasy. The thought of Akashi reading him like that didn’t sit well with him at all. “Well…” He almost gave way under the sorcerer’s gaze yet again and said yes, but managed to catch himself by breaking the eye contact. “I-I’d rather you didn’t, to be honest… um…” He fiddled with his fingers, avoiding his gaze. Hopefully Akashi wouldn’t get too angry. “Sorry... but thank you for asking first.” 

He glanced across at Akashi, almost expecting him to disregard his refusal and do it anyway, but after brief irritation flashed on his face he just gave a short nod. “I expected as much.”

 _Maybe in the future, if this keeps happening_ , Furihata thought to himself. He had been trying to avoid looking at the redhead properly for fear of angering him somehow or becoming even more intimidated, but this time he raised his head towards him, saying, “D-do you need to? To… to get stronger, I mean?”

Akashi gave a brisk shake of his head. “Not necessarily. All I need to do is look at my own future, but I haven’t looked at someone else’s in depth in a long time.” Furihata nodded quickly in understanding and Akashi took this as a signal to carry on. “Using it on someone who isn’t there at the time produces hazy images, since I have to rely on my memory of them. It would be easier if the person was close by, like you are now,” he said, gesturing to Furihata, who nodded again. “And of course, it would be rude to look into someone’s life without their consent.”

Another nod. Furihata looked back at his lap again. Akashi’s consideration was… surprising, but he also didn’t seem like the type to just disregard someone after asking first. Come to think of it, he could’ve just read Furihata’s future at any of these times in the water or the vortex of air without him even knowing, if that was how it worked, but apparently he hadn’t. Furihata felt a sense of relief at this although he hadn’t even been worrying about it in the first place.

He glanced to his right and saw Akashi’s red eyes fixed on him, and immediately felt uneasy again when he spoke.

“If you won’t let me read you, then tell me about yourself, Kouki.”

A squirming feeling settled in his chest for a few moments at the sound of his first name, but it was soon replaced with alarm at the request as he racked his brains for something to say. “There isn’t much to tell…”

“I doubt that. Did you live anywhere before Seirida?”

He took in a breath and let it out through his nose, shivering a little before answering. “I lived in Touland for a while. With my brother and sister. That’s it, really.”

“Touland.” Akashi was still studying him. “I was there very briefly. How did you find it?”

“C-cold.”

Furihata heard a quiet huff of air from next to him and turned his head towards Akashi in surprise. The redhead was looking straight ahead, the corner of his mouth tilted upwards ever so slightly, his eyes a little narrowed in what appeared to be amusement. His stomach flipped. Had he laughed just then? Or come close to laughing?

“I spent most of my time in Teikoun,” Akashi commented as if guessing Furihata’s next question. “I can't stay in one place for long. After I finish here, I’m going to move away.” He looked thoughtful. “Perhaps to Rakai.”

“R-Rakai?” Furihata’s chest twisted. “Aren’t they...” He was going to carry on speaking but Akashi’s narrowed eyes – no longer entertained – made him stop straight away. Commenting on the strictness of the outsider control in Rakai would likely be underestimating Akashi’s abilities, which would probably make him annoyed.

The conversation progressed rather smoothly afterwards. He was surprised to find out that Akashi was 17, just like himself, and even more surprised when he realised Akashi was a month younger than him. Furihata had expected him to be older by at least a bit, although he found that this knowledge didn’t make the sorcerer less scary. He enjoyed reading and playing shogi, and didn’t like going on long, solitary walks because it wasted time. He also disliked disobedience, especially in dogs, and Furihata had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the image of a dog not listening to Akashi. He then wondered when he had become comfortable enough to consider laughing in the sorcerer’s presence and set himself on edge again.

When prompted, he hesitantly began to talk about himself. Contrary to Akashi, he generally enjoyed walks unless they were in dangerous places, and he had never tried playing shogi or many other games of the sort but he suspected he wouldn’t be very good. He liked reading too, as well as gardening and occasionally cooking although his skills weren’t up to scratch. When Akashi didn’t make any move to speak afterwards, he made a poor attempt to carry on the conversation by asking Akashi if he could cook well, and cringed inwardly at his efforts.

Akashi didn’t react badly. “Of course. I live alone, after all.”

“I see…” 

A thought then struck Furihata. “Oh, um… I’ve seen you buying food, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where… where do you get the money for it?” He realised the implications of what he’d just said and immediately started babbling. “I-I’m not accusing you of anything, of course! Y-you don’t have to answer – well, of course you don’t, like you said about the hair, I-I mean – you don’t –”

“Calm down.” Furihata’s mouth clamped shut and he almost bit his tongue. Akashi’s expression was somewhere between annoyed and amused, but not angry. Furihata’s mind was spinning with panicked responses and he almost didn’t realise that Akashi was responding. 

“I have gained money from various things in the past. If I need some more, there are plenty of jobs around, but I haven’t been here long enough to resort to that.”

The image of Akashi doing work like a normal person was almost impossible to imagine.

“I don’t have an appetite as strong as a lot of people either, so I don’t need to spend as much on it,” Akashi added calmly. Furihata blinked at him in surprise and realised that Akashi did look quite slim – and it probably wasn’t just the figure-flattering coat. He wondered if he was underweight, but put that thought out of his mind since it was none of his business. 

He swallowed and shivered a bit as he suddenly became aware that the temperature had dropped. Akashi seemed to notice. “It’s getting dark. Shouldn’t you be heading back?”

Furihata realised with a jolt he was right. The surroundings had taken on a muted, dusky hue which sent a slight chill through Furihata’s blood, especially since the sun was obscured by a thick layer of cloud so there were no pleasant orange streaks anywhere from the sunset. He didn’t want to experience an accidental night walk; the last time he’d been out past dusk had been… stressful, to say the least.

“Y-yeah.” He jumped up from the fallen tree a little too hastily and took a stumbling step forward, almost falling over and only being saved when Akashi stood up and grabbed his hand with incredible reflexes. 

He froze for a second with his feet placed awkwardly to avoid losing his balance, and then shakily straightened himself. Akashi’s voice was still calm. “Be careful.”

He stared at him for a few seconds and gave him a quick nod. “Th… thanks…”

Akashi released him. Furihata turned and exited the clearing in a rush. His face didn’t feel so cold anymore.

At first he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to recognise the paths in the darkness, but after taking a couple of deep breaths to clear his head he managed to make out the route. He was home not long after, although he tripped a little more than usual in the gathering dark.

Night had almost fully fallen by the time he got to his house and shut the door quietly behind him. He pulled off his coat and hung it on the wall among the others, before hesitantly calling his brother’s name. “Aomine-kun?”

There was no answer. Furihata then remembered Aomine’s words to him before he’d left the house. _Oh yeah. His work._

He was home alone, then. He would likely just stay in his room until Aomine came back unless he got hungry.

After taking off his shoes, Furihata made his way up the creaking stairs and slowly opened the door to his room, closing it behind him. The first thing he did was check the watch on his bedside table, and discovered with surprise that it was only 5:45. Sometimes he forgot that it got darker earlier at this time of year.

Furihata sat on his bed and let himself fall to the side, his head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. He lay there for a while, his eyelids sliding shut and then twitching open multiple times. He wouldn’t mind sleeping, but it was only lying on his bed that was making him tired and he could be doing something else. He was a little thirsty, actually, but at the moment he couldn’t really be bothered to get up.

He thought of Aomine, and how despite how lazy he was, he still managed to go and find a job every now and then. Furihata had virtually no idea of how the process even worked. People had told him several times that he should be supporting his family too, as he was already seventeen, but the idea of going and talking to employers placed a feeling of dread in his stomach. What would he even apply for? Gardening? It was nearing the end of autumn; that would be pointless. He was average in almost everything and whenever he tried to think of things that he was good at, he would draw a blank almost immediately. 

Sighing, he sat up again and stretched, yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes. He might nap later. Right now, his throat was dry. Furihata stood up and turned to make his way to the kitchen for some water. 

He took a step in the direction of the door, and then froze.

Right under the doorknob, there was a small, funny-looking white ball.

And guarding the same ball was a spindly, dark spider.

Furihata’s throat felt even drier. The spider wasn’t huge, but it was big enough. As he stared at it, unsure of where to go from there, it changed positions, all its limbs moving at once in a way that made his chest tighten in panic and forced a squeak of fear out of his mouth. He spun around so his back was to the spider and took a shaky breath, trying not to think about it in too much detail.

Furihata needed to turn the doorknob to leave his room, but he didn’t want to go anywhere near the spider and what seemed to be its eggs in the little white ball. He shuddered when he thought about how close his hand must’ve been to the creature when he closed the door and shook his head from side to side to get the image out of his mind. How long had it been there? How was he going to get rid of it? How... fuck, why did these things always happen when he was on his own? Last time there had been a rat, which he hadn’t been that scared of but it was still hard to deal with. And now a spider.

Furihata was terrified of spiders.

He took another breath and tried to calm down. _Okay. Come on. You can do this. It’s just a spider, just a spider…_

Glancing around for something, anything, to use against the spider, he grabbed the first thing he saw. He grabbed a book – one he didn’t hold any particular affection for – and threw it at the doorknob. 

It broke apart the white sphere, but all it did to the spider was send it into some kind of dancing frenzy which Furihata couldn’t bear to watch. Fortunately he saw enough of the sphere to confirm that there were no baby spiders there before he hastily turned his back on the spider again. 

He stood for a while in a hunched position, wrapping his arms around his trembling form as if he were out in the snow with no jacket. He stared at the floor, his back to the spider, before gaining the courage to turn around again.

The spider was gone.

Feeling his heart beginning to beat faster and faster, his eyes began to frantically flit around the room in alarm. His mind was racing. It couldn’t have gone far, right? He hadn’t had his back to it for that long, and it had been right there! Unfortunately, both the floorboards and the walls were relatively dark, the same colour as the spider, and looking for it in his panicked state was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 

But where had it gone? Furihata was beginning to feel a bit faint as he imagined what could happen if he didn’t find it. He didn’t want to stop looking for it in case it ended up in his bed or dropped onto his face while he was sleeping or hid behind his books and jumped out at him when he went to take a new one or laid more eggs or, or…

Furihata couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so relieved at the sound of a door opening.

“Oi, Furihata, you home?”

It was like someone flipped a switch, making the knot in his stomach melt away almost completely. “A-Aomine-kun!” His voice was so shaky from terror and now relief that someone else was here that it sounded almost like a sob. He heard footsteps approaching up the stairs and then the doorknob turned, causing the rest of the dislodged sac to fall off. The door swung open with a whine and Aomine stood there, frowning slightly at him from the doorway. He raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Furihata’s expression. “Jesus, you look like you’re about to cry.”

He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Spider.”

An eye-roll. “Where?”

“I don’t know.”

His brother gave him an odd look.

“I-I mean it was there. But… now it’s not.”

Aomine scanned the floor and his gaze fixed on something. “You mean this one?”

Furihata spared it a glance. It was right out in the open – he must’ve not seen it earlier due to his panic. “Y-yeah.”

Aomine wasted no time in squashing the spider under his boot and scraping it off on the doorframe. Furihata grimaced, but his disgust was short-lived. “Th-thanks for getting rid of it…”

“Wasn’t a big deal.” Aomine scratched at the inside of his ear. “You need to learn to deal with it, though. It’s just a spider.”

He said some variation of that every time. One day, maybe, Furihata would take those words to heart. “I know. I tried.” 

He hesitated before saying “D-do you want a drink? Or anything?”

Aomine gave a light snort. “I’m not a guest. But go ahead.”

Nodding quickly, Furihata stepped past his brother into the hallway. He jumped as the taller man unexpectedly placed a hand on his head as he went past, messily ruffling his hair, but the brunet’s mouth curled into a smile soon after and he ducked away from Aomine’s hand, laughing quietly as they went downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short and uneventful this time.
> 
> I put a spider warning at the beginning since upon rereading this I got shivers, haha. Maybe I'm just easily scared, but it's there now.
> 
> Also wow there's been a lot of kudos since last chapter! Thank you all so much!!
> 
> Edit: I posted this chapter twice oops  
> Oh yeah, this might be a good time to mention that if you spot any plot holes or have any questions about what's happening, please let me know and I'll try and fix them/give you answers as long as they don't give the plot away!


	9. Chapter Nine

Furihata woke earlier than usual the next day.

He was surprised; the curtains were drawn, save for a small sliver at the top, plus he’d woken up just before 8 so there would be no bright light streaming through said gap anyway. He couldn’t hear Aomine moving around either, or any other sounds in the house or outside - until a screeching, high-pitched series of yaps and growls rang through the air, falling silent briefly before starting again. He closed his eyes in exasperation. Ah. He’d been woken by foxes.

Furihata burrowed under the warm covers to try and fall asleep again and pulled them over his head. He wondered if the foxes had woken Aomine too. His brother wasn’t a light sleeper at all, so it was unlikely. Furihata closed his eyes and tried to block out the sounds of the quarrelling foxes.

Eventually the snapping became too much and he sat up with a frustrated sigh. He could lie in, but doing so wouldn’t be pleasant with all that noise in the background, so he decided to just get up. Waking up in a bad mood wasn’t something that happened often to him; however this was turning out to be one of those days.

Furihata stood up, rubbing his sleepy eyes and blinking several times when that didn’t help, then closed them for a few seconds. The foxes were still yapping outside. Going over to the window, he saw two of the animals standing opposite each other and darting back and forth – not quite touching, but each trying to force the other into submission before an actual fight broke out. Furihata sighed and made a fist with his hand, knocking loudly on the window with his knuckles. One of the animals looked up in surprise and the other one followed a split second after. The yapping had ceased.

He wasn’t sure what to do next so he just made shooing motions with his hands. Of course, the foxes didn’t understand. He rapped on the window again, but all they did was stare with wide, watchful eyes. They weren’t going to move unless he physically chased them away, which he didn’t feel like doing.

He decided to get dressed and go downstairs, hoping they would leave soon. Furihata put on a shirt and trousers, then pulled on another shirt for extra warmth and buttoned it up so he wouldn’t freeze. He then opened his door, glancing warily at the doorknob when he remembered the spider incident from yesterday, and went downstairs.

There wasn’t much to eat for breakfast and waking up so early in his current mood had dimmed his appetite, so Furihata just had toast while thinking about what he would do today.

What had he done for the past few days? He swallowed another mouthful of toast. Well, he’d visited Akashi, but now that he thought about it he couldn’t remember if he was supposed to go back today or not. It would be nice to have a break, even if it meant not having much to do, but if Akashi had told him to come again it wouldn’t do him any good to miss it. Furihata gulped down the last piece of toast. As well as being annoyed at his wake-up-call, he was now uneasy too. 

He forced the feeling away. It was barely 8:30 in the morning. There was still time to think about this. 

Furihata rinsed and wiped his plate clean and turned to go back upstairs. As he got to his door, he glanced across at Aomine’s room. Obviously there was still no sign of activity.

Maybe he could read for a little bit. Furihata found the book he’d thrown at the spider the day before and dusted it off, placing it back on the shelf in its correct place and exchanging it for a more favourable one which he was about halfway through. He then realised the foxes had stopped and glanced outside briefly to find that they were gone, and felt a little better.

He tended to get a bit lost in his own world while reading and forget what time it was. After a while he realised he’d almost finished the novel, and looked up in surprise. The sky was clear, unlike the day before where there had been an unbroken sheet of cloud over the town. Some weak sunlight was streaming in through his window and he quickly checked his bedside watch, starting in surprise when he realised it was past 10:30 a.m. He’d been reading for almost two hours.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard Aomine get up yet. Aomine was in no way an early morning person, but he was usually up by 10 or so. Furihata wondered if he should check on him, then decided he would after finishing the book.

When he was finally done, he left his room and walked quietly across the wooden corridor towards his brother’s room next door. Hesitating for a moment, he knocked on the door, quietly at first, then louder when there was no response. “Aomine-kun?”

He thought he heard a muted grunt come from inside the room and turned the doorknob, opening the door carefully to avoid making any loud creaking sounds. Aomine was curled up in his bed with the blankets pulled close around his face, covering his mouth but not quite his eyes. Furihata edged closer, giving his brother some space in case he was annoyed about being woken.

He called out again. “Aomine-kun!”

The shape stirred. “Ugh…”

Furihata tried again. “Um… Are you getting up soon?”

“Maybe…”

“Is something wrong?”

“Bad throat.” He heard Aomine sniff and realised that something was unusual about his voice. “Nose, too. I think I’ve got a cold.”

He bit his lip. “Oh...”

There was a short silence.

“Should I get some water?”

Aomine grunted in response. Furihata took a step closer. “Sorry?”

“Yeah.” Aomine rolled over and looked at him, eyes narrowed with sleep, before falling back again. Furihata nodded quickly and backed out of the room. “Okay.”

He pulled the door closed and went downstairs to fetch a cup of water, taking care not to spill it on the way back up. He entered Aomine’s room again and the latter shifted when he arrived, accepting the water with a mutter of acknowledgement and sitting up in bed to drink it. Furihata hovered nearby, not sure where to look. The room was messy, with a few items of clothing thrown on the floor and bits of dirt on the floorboards which were there as a result of being neglected by the broom. When Momoi came back she would snap at Aomine for letting it become so messy. He made a mental note to clean it himself before her trip ended.

Aomine didn’t drink the entire cup and set it down on the floor by his bed. Unlike Furihata, he didn’t have a bedside stool or anything to tell the time. He rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Somewhere around 11:00.”

“Huh.” He looked like he was about to say something else, but was cut off by a bout of coughing. Furihata didn’t have much experience at all in helping people with illnesses, even things as simple as colds. 

He knew that sitting up made it easier to breathe though. “Um, do you want another pillow?”

“Mhm, why not.” Furihata quickly left to get one from Momoi’s room, and returned without lingering there. 

His brother sat up and let him place the pillow under his head before sinking down onto it. “Yeah, that’s fine.” He coughed again. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” 

Furihata waited for a few more moments before saying, “Do we have anything for supper today?”

Aomine sighed. “No. I’ll go out and get something later.”

Furihata felt an uncomfortable twinge in his stomach. “But… shouldn’t you be staying at home? It’s cold, and your cough may get worse…”

Aomine looked at him and frowned. “What? I’m not gonna die. I can leave the damn house.” 

“But if you stay at home now, then you’ll be up again in a couple of days,” Furihata pressed despite Aomine’s irritated tone. “If you’re still doing things when you’re ill, it’ll take longer for you to get better. And you’ll probably just get worse.” He swallowed. “Please?”

There was a pause. 

His brother made low sound of annoyance. “Fine, but just for today. Tomorrow I’m leaving the house, and you’re not going to stop me.”

Furihata sighed. “Okay.” He wasn’t as good as Momoi when it came to standing up to his brother, not by a long shot, but it was easier when Aomine was in this kind of state. Hopefully he would be better by tomorrow, and if he wasn’t then maybe he could be convinced to stay in bed again. Maybe.

While quickly running through the setup for the next couple of days, he suddenly noticed a flaw in the plan. Aomine wasn’t very good at keeping track of spending. Tentatively he asked, “How much money do we have? In terms of buying food?”

Aomine sighed and seemed to sink further into the pillow. “Enough for today and half of tomorrow. If it doesn’t last for whatever reason, we can just get something from the storage.”

Furihata fiddled with his fingers. “But… won’t Momoi-san be annoyed? We’re not supposed to eat from the storage until November…”

“What else are we gonna do? It’s almost November, anyway, isn’t it? What’s the date?”

The brunet tried to remember. “24th, I think.”

“See, it’s fine.” Whatever Aomine had been about to say next was cut off in a fit of coughing from speaking too much, and Furihata hovered there awkwardly until it subsided. When it had died down, he gave his brother a quick nod and started to back out of the room. “I’ll get food soon, then. Get… get well soon.”

“Mm.” That was all he heard as he shut the door. As he was walking away he thought he heard Aomine complaining about how annoying this was, and felt a twinge of sympathy. Even though his brother was lazy, he didn’t like being confined to his bed like this. It was likely that the only reason he’d listened to Furihata was because he was too weary from his cold to argue; if he had told him to stay at home in a healthier state, Aomine would’ve probably ignored him. 

Furihata didn’t want to get the money just yet. He was too busy wondering what would happen if Aomine wasn’t better by the time it had been spent. True, they had food in storage, but they needed that for the colder months. Momoi would throw a fit if the store had been depleted by the time she came back, but if they had no money to spend on food, what choice did they have?

He knew the answer, but he was trying to avoid thinking about it. 

Furihata was only a year younger than Aomine. Perfectly eligible for work.

He swallowed nervously. Should he go out and see if there were any jobs available? He could. There were bound to be some, even if people a lot more capable than him would want them too. 

But if Aomine got better the next day, which he probably would, it wouldn’t really be necessary. More money was good, yes, but honestly he would rather steer away from situations like this if he could help it. 

He sighed. People wouldn’t describe him as a selfish person, but he felt like one sometimes. If only he weren’t such a coward.

It was still early. The minutes were slowly ticking by on the watch in his room. Furihata sat down on his bed and silently leant back against the wall.

Had Akashi asked him to come today? It was still a few hours earlier than when he usually went, but if he went at least he would have something to do. If Akashi wouldn’t mind, that was. He may be reading or something, and he didn’t seem like the type who would brush off being interrupted. 

Even so, Furihata found himself sliding off the bed and he stood up, stretching and then slumping before exiting his room and going downstairs. There was still a little bundle of nerves in his chest as he pulled on his coat and tied his shoes, but it was tinted with slight determination. 

Aomine would probably guess he had gone out, but he called up to him anyway. “I’m going out. I’ll be back soon.”

There was no reply. He was most likely asleep.

Furihata opened the door and squinted at the gust of wind that blew past him and into the house and he shut the door quickly so it didn’t disturb anything. He pulled his hood up and hugged his arms around himself, shivering. It wouldn’t be this cold if the wind wasn’t so strong. Pulling his hood further down over his face, he trod heavily down the path.

***

Akashi wasn’t in the clearing.

Furihata bit his lip and sat on the usual fallen tree, hunched over to stop the wind from reaching his face. He had his doubts about knocking on the door, although he wasn’t sure what else he could do. A brief glance around the area told him that Akashi hadn’t collapsed anywhere, so he was probably in his house unless he’d gone into the town. 

He took a deep breath and tried to relax further. Being scared would do him no good.

A tingling feeling rose on his back and he shivered again, thinking it was just the cold, but as the seconds went by he began feeling more and more uncomfortable. It was as if he was being watched.

His head snapped up and the hood fell off his face, in time to see a figure step away from the small window at the top of the house. His eyes widened and the nerves rose up again, but his mind was too scrambled to ease them away like before. Okay, so Akashi knew he was here. And he was probably walking towards the door of his house right at this very moment. Was he angry? Was Furihata not supposed to come today? Had he interrupted him?

The door opened. As Akashi stepped out, Furihata avoided looking at him until he was almost right in front of him.

“You’re here early.” The words made his stomach do a flip. He looked up at Akashi. “D-did you tell me to come?”

The standing figure gave a brief shake of his head. “I didn’t. I also didn’t tell you not to,” he added, seeing Furihata’s alarmed face. 

“R-right…” 

Akashi stepped to the side and turned around, sitting next to Furihata in his usual spot. “I wondered whether you would come. It doesn’t surprise me that you did, although I didn’t expect it to be at this time.”

 _Doesn’t surprise him? What’s that supposed to mean?_ Furihata wailed inside his head. “Ah… Sorry if I inconvenienced you, or anything…”

He heard Akashi let out a very small sigh. “You didn’t.” After a pause when neither of them said anything, he prompted, “But you must’ve come here for a reason, correct?”

Oh. Right. “Yeah.” Furihata cleared his throat. “Um… I-I think… I need advice.”

He glanced to the side and saw Akashi raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Well, there was no backing out now. Without mentioning names, he told him about the situation with his brother, and how he was too nervous to find a job even though things would be much better if he was bringing money in too. All the time while he was talking to him, Akashi’s face was unreadable, making Furihata trail off slightly every few seconds as he wasn’t sure if he wanted him to continue, but Akashi prompted him to carry on every single time. 

He mentioned how he wasn’t exactly gifted with talent, and he felt like no one would accept him even if he tried to apply for something. “And even if I do get accepted, I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. I want to do the best I can for my family, and I can’t do that if I’m not even good at the job I’m accepted for.” He had stopped stumbling over his words at this point and was just talking, quietly and slowly, with his head hanging and his eyes gazing dejectedly at his lap. “I’m probably thinking too much about this. I want to support my siblings, but I’m just… worried. I don’t even fully know what I’m worried about; I don’t think being not good enough is the whole thing.” He swallowed. “I guess I’ve never had a job before…”

Furihata trailed off, having nothing else to say that wouldn’t be repetition. He didn’t look at Akashi, fearing what his expression would be, until the redhead spoke.

“So to put it shortly, you care for your family and want to support them; however it’s difficult to because you are scared of doing things you haven’t done before. Like getting a job.”

He gave a small nod. Akashi’s voice was the same as usual – unpredictably calm and collected, with no hints as to where the tone would go next. Furihata fiddled with the buttons on his coat and bit his lip.

“I see.” He heard Akashi shift and realised he was sitting in a straighter position. He appeared to be thinking for a moment, before continuing. “And other than not being good enough, you don’t know why you are afraid?”

Another nod.

“What about if you weren’t good enough? What would happen?”

“I…” Furihata gulped. He tried to imagine a scenario, maybe being given valuable things to carry, and then dropping them. He cringed. “I guess something bad would happen, and it would be my fault.”

“So you are afraid of failure?”

He blinked in surprise at Akashi’s sudden conclusion. “I… I suppose… I try not to let it bother me, but…”

“Right.” Akashi looked thoughtful again. “I haven’t experienced this myself, but I know people who have.” 

Something about that sentence seemed odd to Furihata, but before he could think about what it was Akashi was talking again. “Why does failure affect you?”

He swallowed and racked his brains for an answer, becoming alarmed when he realised he didn’t know. “I’m… I don’t know, actually.” Furihata wasn’t too fond of tracing the roots of his problems, even something like this which seemed simple enough. His brow creased as he thought, and then his expression flipped back to normal when Akashi interrupted his train of thought.

“Kouki, ask me a question.”

He flinched and his head jerked up to stare at Akashi in alarm. “S-sorry?”

“Ask me a question.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. In fact, ask me the first thing that comes to mind.”

Akashi’s red eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his answer. Furihata felt the same ball of nerves growing in his chest again and stuttered frantically. “U-u-um…” Random words were spinning in his mind without forming themselves into proper sentences, and he had barely any control over what they were and how to say them in a way that was coherent. First thing. The first question. First thing that came to mind. He stared at Akashi, his eyes flicking about his face and occasionally on the surroundings. Hair. Red. Red eyes. Leaves. Scars. Caused by wounds. Moss. Water. Blood, red blood. Question. Why. 

He attempted to speak. “W-why… why are…”

And then his speech took a completely different course to what had been going through his head. He blamed all the words flashing through his head and how easily he could get lost in his thoughts, but this didn’t stop him from blurting out the first question his mind managed to form.

“Are we friends?”

Silence.

Furihata’s heart was hammering in his chest, and realising how stupid his words sounded made his entire body feel heavy with mortification and dread. Where had that even come from? He had been thinking about the colour red, not about friendship! Cursing his mind over and over, he slumped forward slightly, avoiding Akashi’s gaze and trying to control the humiliated blush which was spreading as far as his ears. The sorcerer wasn’t going to take that well. It was possibly the stupidest question he’d ever asked him. He could feel himself trembling and wishing that he could just reverse time to a few seconds ago. _Why did I say that? Why the hell did I say that?!_ Would he be angry? Stupidity like this seemed to irk Akashi and he did not want to get on his bad side. His mind spinning, he waited for an answer for what seemed like ages.

His stomach flipped when Akashi spoke. “Why are you so afraid?”

His tone had changed. No longer tinted with coldness, it was now edged with slight amusement which only turned Furihata’s fear into embarrassment. His mind was still wailing at him. _He’s laughing at me…_

Furihata tried his best to stutter out a response. “I-It was stupid, I’m sorry…”

“It may have been unexpected, but I wasn’t expecting anything predictable. Why are you apologising?”

He gulped. “I don’t know…”

“You’re afraid I’m going to be angry at you, aren’t you?”

A jolt sparked in his stomach. Akashi was right. “I… yeah.” He gave up on trying to defend himself.

He heard a slight huff of air from Akashi’s side, much like the one from the day before which sounded like a laugh. “I thought this might be it. Basically, you’re afraid of what other people think of you.” 

He sounded satisfied. Furihata let his words sink in, and realised yet again that he was right. “Th-that’s why I’m worried about trying out for a job, isn’t it…”

“It seems so. You are scared of a lot of people, aren’t you?”

Furihata gave a small nod. 

“This includes people in higher positions than you, does it not? Including employers.” Another nod. “Okay, now think about it.”

The embarrassment was dying down, but he still felt uncomfortable. “Um…” Furihata hesitated. “I guess… I’m scared of people because of what will happen – what I think will happen – if they think badly of me. I think.”

Akashi nodded slowly. “Good. Now, think about what just happened.”

That wasn’t something he wanted to do. “U-um…”

“Calm down, your face is going red again.” He could hear the amusement in Akashi’s voice and wanted nothing more than to jump into the nearby pond.

Furihata tried to think of something, but his mind just wasn’t working when it came to that topic. Seeing they were getting nowhere, Akashi stepped in. 

“I know you are afraid of me.”

He swallowed, avoiding the sorcerer’s gaze. Honestly, it wasn’t surprising at all that Akashi could tell. 

“But just now, I didn’t do anything to you, right? When you asked the question, you were scared of the consequences. But nothing happened to you.”

He could see where Akashi was going, but it didn’t really help. “I suppose… but you’re you, and everyone reacts differently…”

Akashi carried on. “Why do you automatically assume you’re going to do something bad?”

Furihata bit his lip. “I don’t know… I mean, I’m not really anything special, so it’s just possible that…” He wasn’t really sure how to phrase his point and trailed off.

Fortunately, the sorcerer seemed to understand. “Being average doesn’t mean you're going to do something wrong all the time. Would you choose a job that you weren’t good at?” When he received a small headshake as a response, he said, “So whichever job you get, you will do it to a satisfactory standard at least. It’s common sense.”

That was true… 

There was a short silence before Akashi spoke again. “Kouki.”

He felt his stomach flip, not at the use of his first name this time, but in surprise at Akashi’s tone of voice. The amusement was gone, being replaced with something warmer. He allowed himself to glance up at Akashi and saw that his features were, just ever so slightly, softer than usual. He kept this tone as he spoke. “You’ve been embarrassed about things you have asked me before, right?”

So he’d noticed. Furihata looked away and nodded very slightly. “Y-yes.”

“But did I judge you for those things? Has my opinion of you lowered?”

He gulped, his chest knotting. “I haven’t noticed…”

“That would be because it hasn’t.” Furihata felt himself relax just slightly after hearing this. Akashi waited for him to take in his words properly before speaking again.

“The reason for this? First of all, I’m perfectly aware that people find me intimidating, but as you said, everyone is different. However, it was also your first day here. Being nervous in this kind of situation is completely natural for a normal person. And if anyone were to judge you for being scared in a new environment, would they be right to do so?”

Furihata stared at him, his mouth open very slightly. He blinked a couple of times before managing a hesitant “…no.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on Akashi’s face. “That’s right. You are not always in the wrong.”

Again, Furihata was surprised by just how right Akashi was. He gave a slow nod.

Fear then settled his stomach once again when he tried to think about it and his chest tightened in frustration. “But… what if something happens because they judge me for it? What if someone gets...” he felt his throat go dry,“…hurt, or something?”

“If that happens, or is about to happen, you have every right to get up and walk away. Don’t waste your time, it won’t do you any good.”

Biting at his lip, Furihata glanced down. “I-I guess…” He picked at the fabric of his coat. “But what if quitting means I can’t help my family?”

Akashi tilted his head slightly. “Do you really think being employed by someone who doesn’t appreciate you is going to be better than being employed with someone who helps you and doesn’t put you down?”

Furihata stared at him for a few moments, taking the information in, before his tense shoulders relaxed and he looked away. “No.”

“That’s right.”

He fiddled with his fingers, trying to take everything in. The more he thought, the more he was able to make sense of everything.

He may be average, but being average wasn’t wrong or a bad thing. If someone wasn’t happy with him for no good reason, he didn’t have to stick around. As Akashi had said, they were the wrong ones in that situation, not him. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly, stretching up just a little bit into a small half-smile. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a problem.” Akashi’s voice was back to normal again. 

Furihata suddenly felt better. The wind blew, blowing his fringe out of his eyes and causing him to squint, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The fresh feeling was nice, even in this cold weather. He wondered what the time was. They hadn’t been out here for that long.

He remembered Aomine’s cold. “Should I stay?”

Akashi shook his head. “We don’t need to have a session today. You may go.”

“Okay.” He made a move to stand up, and Akashi stood up too just a split second before him. Furihata allowed his mouth to form a quick, nervous smile in his direction, before turning to leave. “Th-thanks again!”

“It was fine. Oh, and Kouki?” 

He turned back. “Hm?”

“You don’t need to come for the next couple of days, either. Come on the 27th.”

Furihata paused, making a mental note of this information. “Right.” 

He watched Akashi turn towards his house, seemingly about to go back inside, but something made him call out hesitantly. “Um…”

The redhead turned around. “Yes?”

“I-I really meant it when I said thank you. I’m going to think about what you said a little more, but I think… I think it helped. A lot.” He tried to keep himself from stammering in order to sound as sincere as possible. “I’m serious.”

Akashi gave him a genuine smile. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this is the longest chapter so far (10 pages) and also the hardest for me to write! I had to rewrite some bits several times, I hope it makes sense. (also I beta'd it late at night again whoops I need to stop doing that)
> 
> Oh and another thing, the ages in this story aren't the same as they are in the actual series, just in case you hadn't already noticed. Some people are a year or two older than others in this when they would normally be the same age, things like that. There are a few larger age changes, but most of them are only one or two years.
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments, they really mean a lot!


	10. Chapter Ten

Furihata hadn’t expected to hear the clunking of footsteps at around 10:30AM the next day. 

He was just cleaning the plate he’d used, having just had breakfast, and was about to reach for the drying cloth when Aomine appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. He looked up in surprise, put down the plate and turned off the tap. “Good morning.”

Aomine cleared his throat. “Hey.”

He sounded better, Furihata noted. The hoarseness had mostly gone from his voice (although there was still a rough edge to it) and his words were clearer so presumably his nose was unblocked. He was out of bed too, which was good. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah. I’m not staying in bed today.” Aomine coughed before going to rummage in the pantry. “Ugh, I’m starving.”

Furihata smiled slightly. Yesterday his brother hadn’t eaten much at dinner – which could be seen as a good thing because Aomine was a bigger eater than him and Momoi and they needed to ration their food – but it was still good to see that he was eating properly again. 

He was still ill, though. If Momoi were here she would probably make him stay in bed again, but Furihata wasn’t good at getting his unruly brother to do things. When it was just the two of them, Aomine was a lot less easily swayed – obviously, since Momoi could exert her authority over him easier.

Furihata turned on the tap again to wash one of the knives, and then put it to the side when he was done and began drying the plates. His eyes flickered over to where Aomine had pulled off a chunk of the bread loaf, eating it without a plate and causing the crumbs to fall everywhere. Sighing internally, he put one plate in the cupboard, and then slid the other one towards his brother and under where he was eating to catch the bits. “I know you’re hungry, but please don’t get crumbs everywhere. I just wiped the table.”

He stood back and waited for Aomine to finish, feeling nervous. There was something on his mind which he needed to sort out.

When he had eaten it all, Furihata cleared his throat. He felt a little bad about what he was about to ask, but he wanted to get this over with. “Um… are you well enough to go outside today?”

Aomine stood up and gave him an odd look. “’Course. I don’t wanna be bored all day again.”

“Okay, well… uh…” Furihata tried to keep himself from thinking Aomine would scorn what he was about to say. “Yesterday I was thinking about how you’re the only person who, well, brings money in regularly,” he began. “And, um, in a situation like yesterday, when you’re unwell and Momoi-san isn’t here…” He swallowed and glanced away. “I don’t know if it sounds selfish, but I feel a bit useless.” Raising his head to look Aomine in the eyes, he said, “I want to try and find work. Could you come with me?”

He waited, praying for a positive answer.

There was a short silence before Aomine snorted lightly. “Was that it?”

Furihata blinked. “Huh?”

“You sounded like you were gonna say something more serious.”

He shifted awkwardly. “Well, this is serious…”

“You know what I mean.” Aomine wasn’t showing any signs of moving to clean the plate, so Furihata moved forward and picked it up himself. As he was moving away, Aomine spoke unexpectedly, making him jump. “I was gonna go out today anyway since we don’t have much money. You can come with.”

Furihata looked up at his brother in surprise. “I… really?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, I just…” He paused, not sure how to continue. He was a bit worried that he would drag Aomine down, also he didn’t want to keep him out for too long in his state. But missing an opportunity like this would just be silly. “Never mind. I’ll go. Thanks!”

“S’alright.” Aomine coughed, still sounding slightly raspy, and began to leave the kitchen. “I’m gonna go soon. Hurry up.”

Furihata nodded quickly, rinsing and wiping the plate, before putting it away and hurrying after Aomine.

Unfortunately he had a different version of “soon” than his brother and ended up standing by the door in his coat and boots for about five minutes before Aomine came down, his shoelace untied, and proceeded to sit down on the stairs and tie it up while Furihata shuffled from foot to foot. Finally Aomine stood up, pulling on the neck of his jumper, and moved towards the door.

“Let’s go, then,” he grunted, opening the door and taking a step outside.

Furihata took in his brother’s appearance, then felt a pang of alarm and jumped forward, grabbing the back of his clothes like he’d seen Momoi do numerous times. “W-wait!”

“Huh?” Aomine turned and frowned at him in half confusion, half irritation. “What?”

A gust of wind blew in through the door and Furihata shivered. He couldn’t believe Aomine was unaffected by the cold without a coat or any other outdoor wear. “Hang on.”

He turned away and rummaged around on the coat hangers before pulling out Aomine’s coat. It was buried underneath the other few coats that they never used or didn’t fit them anymore, and Furihata wondered when it had last been worn. He turned back and held it out to Aomine, trying to ignore the exasperated expression on his brother’s face. 

He swallowed. “You shouldn’t go out without a coat. Not when you have a cold.”

Aomine just snorted and took it. “Fine. Since when did you become a mother?”

“Wait, take this too,” Furihata added, grabbing a scarf from the hangers which Aomine grudgingly took and wrapped around his neck. “It would be bad if you got worse.”

If Momoi were doing this, she would heavily scold Aomine for trying to walk out without keeping warm, but he was in no position to do that and his brother would probably just laugh or ignore his attempts. He took a scarf himself after feeling how chilly the air was, and felt himself relax into the warm embrace around his neck. He didn’t have time to enjoy it for long, though, because Aomine was already walking out the door and calling at him to hurry up.

He hurried after him, shutting the door and stepping quickly down the path.

***

“Oh, I’m so glad you decided to stop by!” A small, older man was making conversation with Aomine, his eyes practically sparkling and words gushing from his mouth. “You did such a good job last time with the barrels. It’s such a shame you didn’t give me your contact information; I’ve needed strong workers like you recently!”

“Uh, sure.” Aomine looked just a little bit uncomfortable and slightly annoyed. “So, about later…”

“Oh! Right! Yes, yes,” the man exclaimed. “Silly me. We have some wheelbarrows loaded with antiques, which need to be pushed to the square a few streets away. Can you handle that?”

Sounding reluctant, Aomine replied, “Yeah. When?” 

“2-3ish would be best! I’d advise you to come at 2, but there may be hold-ups.” The man laughed. “I’m quite scatter-brained sometimes, forgive me. But you’ll be getting paid more than last time, I promise!”

Furihata guessed that the only reason Aomine hadn’t gotten more annoyed at the man was because he was still tired from his cold. Usually he couldn’t stand people who were this enthusiastic. The brunet’s gaze flicked from one man to the other, and he was glad when Aomine finally brought an end to the conversation. 

“Okay. Bye, then.”

“Of course! Thank you so much, and goodbye!”

Just as they were turning to leave, the man’s gaze locked on Furihata. “Oh! Who’s this young man?”

Furihata jumped in surprise; the man hadn’t said any words to him throughout the conversation although he’d definitely spared him a couple of glances. “U-um-”

“This is my brother.” He was relieved when Aomine stepped in and even more relived when he didn’t mention his name. His brother’s voice was tense, as if he were trying to stop himself from saying something that would cost him the job. It was clear that he just wanted to leave. “And no, he can’t help today. He’s busy.” 

“Oh, of course! I didn’t think he could, anyway.” He beamed at Furihata, making the teen feel even more uncomfortable and bit irked at his immediate decision that he wasn’t notably strong (even though it was true). Furihata tried his best to smile back, said goodbye, and left along with his brother.

“He’s… weird,” he mentioned once they were out of earshot, and Aomine groaned. 

“Ugh, I know. I’ve worked for him a couple of times. He gives good pay, but he’s irritating as hell.”

“Mhm.” Furihata looked around and then up at the clock tower in the nearby square which they could see from the street. “It’s almost 1:00pm. We’ve been out for ages.”

A weary sigh. “Well, I’ve got my work for today, but we still need something for you before I have to go and push wheelbarrows.”

He nodded quickly, feeling a little nervous at the lack of time. He didn’t want to go looking on his own; he had barely any idea of what to do. They had visited several people Aomine knew or had worked for before, and had been directed to others in the process, but none of them had had jobs which Furihata could do to a good standard. It had even taken Aomine a while to find a job which would pay him today. However, that had been resolved with the excitable man, plus he had been offered several more for future days which he had turned down for various reasons. The best thing Furihata had found for himself was helping to set up a stall, but another person had laid claim to the job before he could do it himself. Walking around for so long with no luck was frustrating.

They kept walking, with his brother looking around occasionally at people trying to sell things, before they were interrupted again.

“Aomine-kun!” He saw Aomine stiffen beside him as a young girl ran up, presumably about their age or younger. She stopped in front of them and stared up at him excitedly. “My father wants to know if you’re free for 3:00pm today…”

“No. Sorry.”

“Aw… okay.” If she had a tail, it would’ve drooped. “Maybe another time, then!” she said hopefully as they passed her. 

Aomine ignored her. Furihata glanced back and gave her a small smile of encouragement, but she just frowned in confusion. Of course; she didn’t know who he was. He looked away and hurried back after Aomine. “Who was that?”

“Daughter of someone I worked for. Satsuki’s convinced she likes me. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Furihata snorted quietly. Aomine looked at him and frowned. “Oi, what’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” He thought about making a remark about his brother’s ego but decided not to. He glanced around. “You seem to know a lot of people.”

“That’s what happens when you do a bunch of jobs for different guys. It’s not always the best thing.” Aomine yawned. “Turn left here.”

Furihata was looking around too, although he wasn’t sure what he was searching for; his brother was a lot more experienced at this than him. He pointed at things a couple of times and asked about them, but generally they weren’t what they were looking for. This part of the town wasn’t very familiar to him. He wondered how far they were from home.

They turned a corner and Furihata almost crashed into a man carrying a basket of various fruits and vegetables. Aomine gave a sound of surprise and stepped quickly to the side as Furihata jerked towards him in an effort to get out of the way, but unfortunately the man tripped, fell into his knees and dropped the basket in front of him. Turnips and apples and potatoes spilled out onto the floor, and the guy regarded them for a second before wearily starting to pick them up. 

Aomine regarded the situation with one raised eyebrow, but Furihata was mortified. “I-I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, bending down to try and help the man with the spilled contents. “I-I didn’t see you, I didn’t mean to make you trip!”

The man glanced up at him. “It’s fine.” He gestured to the ground behind him, where a small rock stuck out of the ground. “It wasn’t entirely your fault.”

“Oh. R-right.” Furihata blinked a couple of times before realising the man had begun to stand up, and grabbed a potato which he seemingly hadn’t noticed. “Um, here.”

“Thank you.” The man placed the vegetable in the basket with the others. He frowned at Furihata. “I haven’t seen you before. I’ve seen you, though,” he commented, glancing at Aomine. “You worked for someone I know. Broke a table.”

“Mhm.” Aomine didn’t look that bothered, to Furihata’s worry. “So? It was an accident.”

“Hmm.” The man regarded him with narrowed eyes. He was probably in his thirties, neither young nor old-looking, with an ordinary face and bald save for some very short, pale-looking hairs at the sides of his head. “Pity, really. There are a lot of jobs around at this time of year. Leaving a bad impression on people like that won’t do well for you.”

Aomine’s expression had grown sour. His eyes narrowed, and although he didn’t look very tense there was suddenly an atmosphere around him which made Furihata nervous. “You picking a fight?”

“Aomine-kun,” Furihata whispered, shifting uncomfortably. “Please don’t.”

The man hadn’t responded to Aomine’s threat and appeared to be about to leave. Aomine gritted his teeth and the annoyed expression faded slightly, although the latter action appeared to be forced. “Hey, wait. Do you have any jobs?”

The man turned back to him and raised his eyebrows. “I certainly wouldn’t consider hiring you, if that’s what you mean.”

Visibly angry now, Aomine jabbed a finger in Furihata’s direction. “Not me, him!”

Furihata glanced back and forth at the two pairs of eyes on him and blinked nervously. He hoped the man wouldn’t refuse him because of the crash earlier. _He shouldn’t, right? He said it wasn’t entirely my fault..._

The older man sighed. “Well, I do have something for tomorrow. I’m trying to prepare and store the food we have, but my wife is going away for a bit and it’s difficult doing it alone. Are you interested?”

Furihata stared at him, wide-eyed, before nodding quickly. “Y-yes, of course. Um…” He tried to recall what Aomine had done when talking to employers. “Uh… what time?”

“Preferably at about 12:00pm. Do you know how to salt meat and preserve fruit?”

He nodded again. “I’ve helped out my sister several times.”

“I see.” The man considered him for a moment. “You can handle it, right?”

 _What’s he saying? It’s just storing food!_ Furihata tried to stand taller and look less scared. “Yes!”

“Okay. My place is just across from here.” He pointed to a house on the corner of the street which appeared to have some fields behind it, presumably his. “Make sure you’re here at 12:00pm, okay?”

“Alright.” Furihata tried desperately to remember the route they’d taken to get here, but Aomine just leaned down and muttered “I’ll walk you over,” before sneezing loudly. Pushing away the surprise at Aomine’s offer, the smaller boy realised that getting home and out of the cold was probably the best option right now since his brother was ill.

“I-I’ll see you tomorrow, then!” Furihata said hastily, tugging on Aomine’s sleeve to try and get him to start walking. The latter grunted and frowned down at him. “Wait a second.” He looked back at the man. “How much will he be getting paid?”

When told the rough amount, Aomine frowned. “That’s not that much.”

“There’s not a lot to do.” The man began to walk away with the basket. “Anyway, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

“Y-yes.” Furihata bit his lip, taking a mental note of what the house looked like, and then glanced up at Aomine who was already walking away. He hurried after him. “We should probably go home.”

“You can. I’ll be staying out until my job starts. No point in going home and then leaving straight after.”

Furihata’s chest twisted slightly. It was no use arguing with him. “Right…” But then how would he get back? He didn’t know the way.

“I’ll walk with you a bit of the way.” Oh. Okay. Phew.

They carried on walking, with Aomine occasionally coughing and Furihata becoming even more worried for his health. Moreover, it had started to become darker despite being just past noon, and the sky was covered with stormy-looking clouds. Furihata gulped. He did not want to get caught in the rain.

Eventually, they reached a familiar square. Aomine glanced around. “You know where we are?”

He nodded. “I’m alright from here. Thanks for walking me back.”

“S’fine.” Aomine coughed again – Furihata was about to tell him to pull his scarf over his nose and mouth, but he did it anyway before he spoke. 

“See you later!” Furihata called, waving slightly. Aomine acknowledged his parting with a tilt of his head and began to walk in another direction.

Not long after the brunet had started walking again, a pattering rush sounded throughout the town, and the next thing he knew heavy rain was soaking into his shoulders and hair. He shivered and pulled up his hood, cursing the weather before hurrying on. Somewhere, a child screamed in delight. A dog barked. A woman nearby yanked a shirt off the windowsill and slammed the window shut.

A few people were hurrying inside the church as he passed it. He looked up at the door for a few moments, being held open by one of the citizens. The building cast a shadow over the street where he was standing and felt his chest twist uncomfortably. It took him a moment to realise he’d stopped walking.

The woman holding the door open noticed him and called out through the rain. “Do you want to come inside?”

He started. “Oh, no, it’s fine!”

She gave him a nod. “Don’t get too wet!”

He thanked her and hurried on home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, sorry this took so long! It's been a month and it wasn't even an exciting chapter, I was just busy for a while and then kept procrastinating. I'm really sorry!
> 
> On another note, I've been fleshing out the story and I'm thinking it's going to be around 25 chapters, maybe more. I just thought I'd share that with you guys.
> 
> As usual, thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter Eleven

“Take this.”

Furihata started in surprise and fumbled as the bag of grain was shoved into his arms, not expecting it to be as heavy as it was and almost dropping it. After gaining control over his hands, he looked back to his employer, who regarded him with a calm expression. 

They were standing outside the back of the man’s house, in a small garden-like section before the fields started. His house curved away from the street in an L shape, and the majority of the extra space seemed to be used for storage. The back entrance was on the left, which was where they were standing. 

The man was holding a mug with some kind of drink in it. With his free hand he gestured to a pile of identical-looking bags propped up against the fence nearby. “This is your first task. Those bags contain grain, and there are five.” He pointed to a small extension off the other end of his house, fairly far away from where they were. “I want them all in that building as soon as possible, in the back left corner. Can you do that?”

Feeling the weight of the bag in his arms, Furihata swallowed and nodded. “I-I’ll do my best!”

“Alright. I’ll observe you.” The man’s tone was neutral and slightly soft, as if he could tell the boy was nervous. Furihata watched tensely as his employer retreated to the back door, sipping from the mug in his hands. He blinked a couple of times and repeated the instructions in his head. _Extension. Back left corner. Okay._

Showing incompetence or fear at this stage wouldn’t do him any favours. He bit his lip and started towards his destination with the single bag.

The trek wasn’t too long, but it would’ve been nice if it was shorter. His arms were already aching slightly by the time he put down the bag, and he was grateful for the relief. After stretching and taking another breath, trying to summon the energy which had forsaken him that morning, he marched out of the plain-looking building and attempted to look more confident.

This morning had been rather nerve wracking for him as far as mornings went. Upon coming home the previous day, Aomine had been sneezing and sounded even more tired than usual. Furihata had quickly ushered him to bed. This hadn’t been too difficult; his brother had already been going upstairs for that very reason. In the morning he had rushed in to check on his brother but miraculously he didn’t seem that bad. Aomine had just said something about being too tough to be crippled by a mere cold before they went to breakfast.

Because of Aomine’s dawdling Furihata had almost been late for his job and had ended up running part of the way there while his brother grunted and went back home. He’d been on time, fortunately, but exerting himself before tasks like this wouldn’t do him any good. He needed to learn how to calm himself down.

Furihata reached the bag pile again. The second bag was a similar case – his arms ached slightly, but nothing too bad. The third was fine as well, but by the fourth he had visibly slowed. He wasn’t a weakling, however, and managed to place all five bags in the correct spot without becoming too visibly tired. 

The man left his position by the wall and walked up to him as he approached, having delivered the last bag. Furihata tried to put on a pleasant expression rather than a scared one as he was addressed.

“Not bad. You could work on your carrying posture a little more, but that isn’t my problem.”

 _...Right._

“That’s that, then. Next task. Come with me.”

In contrast to before, his words were brief and relatively dismissive. It was clear that the man didn’t think much of him and Furihata lowered his head slightly, feeling sheepish. He tried to shake it away. There wasn’t anything else he could do to enhance his employer’s opinion of him other than trying his best, so he tried to swallow his fear and followed the man to their next location. 

His next task involved five large jars of milk, larger than the ones he had at home.

“Stir them. Make sure they have nothing foreign in them, and if they do, take it out or come and find me if you’re not sure what to do. After five minutes on each, close the lids and come to see me. I’ll show you what to do next.”

Going over the steps in his head, he nodded quickly. “Okay.”

“I’ll be in the next room,” the man told him, gesturing to the door behind him. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“R-right. Sure.” 

Furihata watched the man leave, and then looked down nervously at the milk. He wished he could think of more to say which would make him seem competent, but right now his mind was a mess.

He picked up the spoon lying on the table, unscrewed one of the jars, and nervously dipped it in, stirring it cautiously at first and then more confidently and firmly. It was just stirring, after all. Just like he did back at home.

The first jar was fine apart from a single hair he found which he hoped wasn’t his. The second one was also okay, containing nothing strange as far as he could see. The third one was also relatively the same as the first. It was only when he unscrewed the fourth and wrinkled his nose at the smell when he realised this wouldn’t go as smoothly as he had first thought. 

He put the lid down on the table, reconsidered and screwed it back on the jar, then changed his mind again and took it off. He sniffed the milk again just to make sure he wasn’t overreacting and then decided he definitely wasn’t. The milk was almost certainly off. Good milk didn’t smell like this.

Furihata glanced nervously at the closed door across the kitchen from where he was standing. He would have to go and ask.

After a bit of shifting and twiddling his thumbs, he shuffled towards the door and stopped when he was near enough to knock, lifting his fist and rapping quietly on the door with his knuckles.

No response. Furihata tried again, louder this time.

“Coming.” He jumped and drew back from the door as he heard footsteps, and almost forgot he didn’t need to look up to talk to the man when he opened the door. “Yes?”

“Um.” For a moment, Furihata forgot what he was here for. “Oh. Um, I think there might be something wrong with the milk…”

“Let me see.” The man walked past him and inspected the jars for a second before he pointed to the open container. “This one, right?”

“Mm.”

He picked it up, sniffed it, then drew back with a look of mild discomfort. After examining the bottom and sides and giving it a couple of stirs with the spoon, he put the jar down and screwed the lid back on before setting it to the side on the counter. “Well done. You’re right, that milk was bad.”

“O-oh. Okay.” Furihata couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of pride even though it had been pretty obvious.

It was a little strange, though. Why were all the others (although he hadn’t checked the fifth one yet) alright? Why had there been one jar which seemed much more off than the others? Where did it come from? Was it older? And if it was, why had he decided to place it with the others?

As the man turned to go back to the other storage room, Furihata spoke. “Did you… did you know about it? The milk, I mean?”

The man stopped and glanced over his shoulder. For a moment a sense of dread filled the brunet as he wondered with a jolt whether saying that had been a bad idea, but that disappeared when a slight, almost sly smile appeared on the man’s face.

“You’re not as plain as you look, are you? You’re right, I did put that one in on purpose.” Furihata stared at him in surprise as he spoke. “I’ll admit, I was testing you. But you’re not so spineless that you can’t ask for help, and not silly enough to just ignore a situation where something is definitely wrong. You’re also cleverer than I expected, so you pass.”

Furihata blinked at him. He wasn’t really sure what to say. It was like his nature had just been analysed through some simple jars of milk. Also, despite being told he had surpassed the man’s expectations, he wasn’t sure whether to feel offended, pleased or alarmed. _Do I really look that bad at getting things done?_

“Don’t mind me. Carry on with what you’re doing.” The man went back inside the other storage space and shut the door. A kind of knocking sounded from the other side, and Furihata wondered what he was doing.

The fifth jar was also fine, with no difficulties. He had to wait a bit while his employer finished his work in the other room, but once he was done they carried the jars outside – two each since the fourth was still on the counter. The jars were heavy and the glass was smooth and hard to grip, but fortunately none of them fell. They made their way around the side of the house to a place which wasn’t part of the fields or garden; a small area with stone and dirt underfoot and a little grey-bricked well in the middle, sheltered by a dark, wooden roof. The man stopped by it and set the jars down on the ground.

“Watch me,” he told Furihata, who nodded and tried to focus.

There were several thick pieces of string or rope lying on the edge of the well. None of them were secured to the bar, except for one which he guessed was for the bucket. The man secured one of the ropes to the bar and began to turn it, while also making sure the bucket rope didn’t unravel, until the rope was almost completely wrapped around the bar apart from about a metre and a bit. Picking up the spare end, he held up the jar and the rope next to each other while saying, “Watch closely.”

Furihata watched closely as he tied the string around the lid, looping it around several times and checking the lid was properly screwed on before lifting the dangling jar by the string and hanging it over the ground next to the well to make sure it was secure. When satisfied, he carefully lowered the jar down until it was suspended over the water, swinging slightly from the bar of the well. It was presumably secure, but it still looked precarious.

The man then began to turn the crank on the end of the bar, but only turned it a few times before turning it back the other way again to bring the jar back. “After all four jars are tied to the bar like this, you will turn the lever and lower them into the cold water,” he stated. “Understand?”

Furihata tried to remember, although he was pretty sure he would need help at some point. “Um, yes.”

“Good. Your turn.”

After observing the other knot for a few seconds, Furihata picked up one of the ropes and tried to replicate it. The man said nothing as he was tying it, and when he was done he figured he’d done it right from the man’s approving nod from next to him. Fumbling a little with the other end of the string, he began to loop it in the way he’d seen his employer do, or at least he tried. This part was trickier and he was corrected twice before managing to get it right and tie the knot securely.

Finally, when he was done, he let the rope slide slowly through his fingers until the jar was dangling over the dark cavern of the well. He glanced sideways at the man and started in surprise when he noticed his face was slightly contorted, as if he’d done something wrong.

Fortunately, the man explained his discomfort. “You should have tested its strength before you let it go, but it looks fine. Please do it for the others, though.”

Furihata nodded in understanding, feeling a little ashamed. He set to work on the next jar.

As he finished and lowered the third jar into the well, he glanced up at the sky. It was cloudy today, but he could still see the faint glow of the sun through the clouds. It looked quite high. The work wasn’t supposed to continue past 3:30pm.

On any other day in a situation like this, he would be praying for time to pass faster. However, his time here hadn’t been too bad so far.

***

The light was still fairly bright as Furihata let his hands fall away from the handles of the wheelbarrow he was pushing, a sigh of relief escaping his lungs. He straightened and stretched, feeling his elbow joints click as he did so, then relaxed and looked down at the empty wheelbarrow in front of him.

At the other end of the house were the barrels of various goods he’d had to push back and forth. There had been six – at first the man had told him to carry them in his own hands, but they’d both soon realised that wasn’t possible in his tired state, and his employer had fetched the wheelbarrow. Loading the barrels in had still been his job, but pushing and lifting them for small periods of time hadn’t been as bad.

He was sweating – which was obviously strange given the season but he didn’t do vigorous exercise often. Furihata didn’t feel bad, though; although he had been extremely nervous at first, he’d started to relax and was now feeling relatively happy. 

Making sure the job was completely finished and there wasn’t another barrel he’d missed, he called to his employer, who was working nearby. “I’m done!”

The man walked over to him, scanned the area, and then walked briskly away in the direction of where Furihata had deposited the barrels. He returned soon after checking them over. “Good, very good. I expected you to be tired after a while, but despite your heavy breathing you didn’t take as long as I thought you would.” 

His words made a small ball of pride form in Furihata’s chest, and he bit his lip slightly to stop himself from smiling too visibly. “T-thank you…”

The man appeared to be thinking for a moment, before a decisive look came onto his face. “Alright, that’s it. You’re done.”

Furihata blinked in confusion a couple of seconds, and then his mind cleared. “Huh? Really?”

“Yes. Give me a moment.”

He hovered on the spot while the man went inside the house and found himself spacing out until the man came back with one hand in his pocket. He fished around for a little while before pulling out several coins, counting them, and then showing them to Furihata.

“This is your money. Are we good?”

Furihata stared at his hand for a few seconds, blinked out of his daze, quickly counted the money in his head and then nodded quickly. “Yes, of course!” The amount was higher than the man had predicted when they had first run into him, and either way it wasn’t like he had the confidence to negotiate prices. He watched, still in awe of the fact that he had just earned his first coins, while the man placed the money in a small cloth bag and tied it at the top with a piece of string. 

He placed the bag in a wondering Furihata’s hand. “There. I trust you know the way home?”

Furihata thought about the route and felt a twinge of dread, but he nodded anyway. “Yes, of course.” He then cursed himself for repeating the exact same thing he had said earlier and prayed the man hadn’t noticed.

His employer nodded, seeming satisfied. “Good. Thank you for helping me out today.”

“O-oh, um, it’s fine! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” The man put his hands on the wheelbarrow and began to push it away. “Your coat is out the front. Run along, now.”

After giving him a brief nod Furihata turned and hurried around the side of the house, pulling on his coat and carefully placing the bag in one of his pockets. Although tired from the work, he also felt brighter and more confident than usual, and went home with a spring in his step.

He had studied the route enough on his way here to know which streets to take to get home, so there were no complications. As he reached the path to his house, he increased his pace and treaded lightly and quickly up to the front door.

Furihata turned the doorknob quickly and the door swung open. “I-I’m home!”

He then stopped and stared in surprise at the scene before him. “Huh?”

Two pairs of eyes, one blue, one pink, stared back at him from the hallway. It took a moment for him to register the latter, and by that time Momoi had already jumped forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. “Furihata-kun! How are you?”

She was back? Well, it had been around a week. The bewilderment of seeing her so suddenly meant that he almost forgot to reply. “I’m good!” His sister let him go and stood back as he spoke. “Better than usual, I think.” 

Furihata took in her appearance. She looked good-natured and pretty, as usual. Her hair was up in a ponytail, tied with the ribbon Furihata had given her, but it was slightly dishevelled and it was clear from her eyes she was tired. He switched topics. “But how are you? How was your trip?”

“It was pretty good! Most of the things were sold for reasonable prices. I could’ve done better, but it wasn’t bad.” Momoi gave a satisfied smile, teasing one of the tangles out of her hair with a finger.

Then, before Furihata could think of something to say, her pleasant expression changed to one of concern. “Oh… right. Dai-chan says you’ve been working today. Is that right?”

Aomine hadn’t said anything throughout the conversation, and he still didn’t say anything now. When Furihata looked up at him, he just glanced at Momoi and rolled his eyes.

The brunet swallowed. He didn’t really understand why this would concern his sister, but he wasn’t going to lie about it. “Yeah, I have.”

Her expression turned curious. “Why?”

He explained the situation with Aomine’s illness and how he felt useless for not doing anything to help with the income. When he was finished, her curiosity had barely lessened.

“Ah… okay. I see.” Momoi appeared to be thinking for a moment before a frown cast over her face. “But… why now? I remember you wanting to get a job in the past, but you were too nervous. You didn’t want to speak to people about it.”

Aomine coughed. “He went with me. I did the talking.”

“You offered to go with him before! He still said no.” Momoi frowned up at him before turning back to Furihata. Her voice softened. “This isn’t an issue, of course! I’m just curious. What made you change your mind?”

He blinked. “I…”

“You look happier today,” she added.

Well, he did feel happier. But he couldn’t tell her about the meeting he’d had with Akashi which pushed him to grit his teeth and go out to get a job; she would freak out.

So he just shrugged. “I-I guess I just felt… more confident that day,” he said, trying to put on a brighter face. “I don’t really need a special reason to be.”

Momoi regarded him for a few more moments before her face relaxed. “Well, alright.” The corners of her mouth turned upwards into a smile once more. “Come through to the kitchen! I want to see your earnings. And you can tell me about what you did, too!”

As she turned away, Furihata thought he caught a hint of suspicion in her gaze and felt a pang of alarm. He hoped he hadn’t sounded too nervous. Avoiding Momoi Satsuki’s intuition was difficult for everyone, himself included. 

He followed her, trying to quell his rising apprehension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't that fun to write, but I'm glad I got it done now rather than a month after chapter 10 like last time. (whoops)
> 
> Not much to say about it. One thing, though - you may have noticed the summary has changed from 1800s-ish AU to pre-1800s AU. This isn't really anything significant, I just thought it would be more accurate after doing some research. I highly doubt I'll change it again.
> 
> Thanks very much for reading! And wow, over 70 kudos? I never expected this fic to be so well received, haha. Thank you!!


	12. Chapter Twelve

Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t be outside at this time, considering the weather, but apparently Furihata was not one of these people. The thudding sound of the rain resounded through the woods from all sides and splashed onto the wet earth, turning it even more muddy than it already was and a bigger hazard for Furihata as he slipped and occasionally almost fell from the sodden ground, trying to progress on to the clearing.

It wasn’t just the rain – the wind was strong, too. Furihata felt himself narrowing his eyes and bending his head down to avoid getting water blown into his face – also to make sure he wasn’t going to trip over anything and fall face first into the mud. He was already soaked; he didn’t want to be also covered in dirt when he saw Akashi. 

His hood was almost blown off by a sudden gust of wind and he yelped while quickly lifting his hand to grab it so his face didn’t get even more drenched. As his eyesight was no longer half-obscured by the hood, he realised he was almost at the clearing. A burst of determination shot through him. Pulling his hood back over his head, inhaling and exhaling, he strode forward with newfound resolve. 

Finally, Furihata stumbled past the line where the trees ended. He’d reached it.

Akashi was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t stop him from taking a deep breath and calling out. “Akashi-san!”

There was no reply. He looked around wildly while at the same time trying to shield his face from the rain. Where was he? To be fair, he hadn’t called very loudly and the sound of the wind and rain probably drowned out his voice by quite a lot. Taking a deep breath and hugging his coat around him, Furihata shouted louder. “Akashi-saaaaan!” 

Still nothing. He recalled the time when he’d found Akashi curled up by the tree, and felt panic rise in his chest. What if that had happened again? What if he had collapsed after the spell and was unconscious in this awful weather? Had he been too late? Had he started the spell already? What if it had gone horribly wrong?

He was almost about to stumble into the bushes again to look for him, when he heard a loud knocking sound coming from Akashi’s house. His head shot up in surprise. Akashi was standing at the window on the top floor, his face blurred by the water dripping down the glass. Furihata stared at him, blinked a couple of times, and then realised how stupid he was. Of course Akashi wouldn’t be out in these conditions. He was far from stupid. Why hadn’t Furihata just gone and knocked on his door?

He could just about make out Akashi beckoning to him from the house, and he quickly obeyed. The sooner he could get out of this rain, the better.

Furihata hurried to the door and stood by it for a couple of seconds before Akashi opened it and ushered him inside. The door closed, and the sound of the wind and rain was almost completely muted.

Furihata stood there shivering. Akashi observed him for a moment before speaking. “Take off your coat and put it on the hook. I’ll get you a towel.”

“W-what?” Furihata wished his teeth weren’t chattering so much from the cold. “Y-y-you don’t have t-to…” His voice trailed off as Akashi slipped out of the hall and through a door on the left. “…okay.”

He hung his coat on one of the hooks behind him. Akashi returned a moment later with an off-white towel and Furihata lifted his hand to take it. “T-thank you…”

Akashi didn’t pass it to him. Furihata involuntarily flinched as Akashi lifted his arms, and then blinked in surprise as the towel was rested over the top of his head. “H-huh?”

“Dry yourself off.” Akashi then walked past him to the hooks. 

Furihata was frozen for a moment, before he took in Akashi’s words and began rubbing his head with the towel. He then turned to see Akashi standing there, observing his sodden coat with a contemplative expression, his thumb and index finger cupping his chin as if he were deep in thought. As Furihata watched, Akashi took the hand down from his face and placed it on the coat.

He was not prepared for what happened next.

The coat seemed to glow golden very slightly, as if dusted with yellow powder, and gradually the water at the further edges of the coat started to move inwards towards Akashi’s hand. Furihata could only stare in amazement as the water collected around Akashi’s fingers, leaving the rest of the coat completely dry and no longer dripping with water. The sorcerer then took his hand away from the coat and turned to face Furihata, who was watching with wide eyes. There was a sphere of water hovering just above the palm of his hand, moving slightly as if the liquid was trying to escape from whatever was keeping it in this unnatural position. 

Furihata tried to form words with his gawking mouth. “H-how did you…”

“Did you think I could only do spells which involved seeing the future?” Akashi raised his other hand and placed it on the side of the sphere, keeping it in place. “There are many, many spells a sorcerer can do. Of course, the ones they can do the best depend on their minds and their skill. There are combinations of spells, too. Really, you can have an almost infinite number, but hardly any sorcerers have access to such a vast amount.”

Furihata’s jaw worked again as he tried to speak. “Are you…” His voice croaked and he cleared his throat, trying to stop his astonishment from affecting his speech. “Are… are you one of those?”

The corner of Akashi’s mouth twitched upwards. “No, I am not.” Furihata felt his shoulders sag in relief, to his surprise. “I am a powerful sorcerer, especially for my age, but the kinds of sorcerers I mentioned are usually very, very old. Some have even used magic to extend their lifespan so they can perfect their knowledge. They are very rare, and I don’t desire to become one of them. The more knowledge of sorcery you have, the more strain your mind is put under, or so they say.” 

Furihata’s mind whirled as he tried to process this. He took a deep breath to calm down and nodded quickly in response. “I-I see. Okay.”

Akashi’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before he looked down at the sphere. “We have our water for today’s session. Fetch that bowl from over there.” He gestured to the corner of the room, where a bowl was set under a small wooden table. Furihata quickly obeyed, hurrying over to the corner and rushing back with the bowl. Akashi released the water and let it fall into the container, and Furihata had to admire his resourcefulness. 

The other finished and walked past him. “Follow me. We’ll do this upstairs.”

He nodded and hurried after Akashi, still clutching the bowl. Akashi led him up the stairs at the end of the room and into what Furihata had thought was just a regular attic, but it was a lot better constructed, more like a small room. This was Akashi’s space.

It was rather plain, with a simple dresser and bed in the corner and a small shelf of books on the opposite side. He seemed to have more books than Furihata had, and they all looked older and creased from the continuous turning of their pages. There was a candleholder on the dresser, with a slightly melted stick of wax stuck in the metal, and the floor was clean and neat. The room had the kind of dusty smell which old rooms often had – Furihata wondered just how old the house was – but there was a slightly fresh touch to it which made him think of leaves and autumn berries. The ceiling sloped upwards to a point in the centre, and the edges were lined with wooden beams. It was the highest point of the house.

Furihata had been too engrossed in looking around to realise Akashi was waiting for him until he heard a little cough from across the room. He looked up in surprise. Akashi was standing by the dresser, looking slightly impatient. Furihata swallowed. “Sorry.”

“There isn’t much to look at. Hurry up.”

Whoops. 

The setup wasn’t that different from normal. Furihata held the bowl, while Akashi stood on the opposite side and bent his head over to stare into the water. As usual the former could see a disturbance in the ripples; several merging spots of colour and twisting figures as if there were dark shapes moving below the surface, but obviously Akashi was the only one who would be able to make sense of them. Still, he peered at them, observing and pondering the dancing shapes.

He had been too absorbed in what he could see in the water to notice how much Akashi was shaking until the sorcerer collapsed. 

Furihata yelped in surprise and dropped the bowl, barely registering the splash of water on the floorboards as he hooked his hands under Akashi’s arms to keep him upright. Akashi’s head fell on his shoulder, his breathing loud and heavy. Beginning to panic, Furihata pushed at Akashi’s chest, trying to get him to stand on his feet again before they both collapsed. “A-Akashi-san? W-what’s wrong?”

The other raised his head and Furihata saw his eye flickering golden, even though he was no longer looking into the water. His mouth moved. His voice sounded distant. “Not… finished. Window. Open the window.”

Fortunately the window was right by the dresser. Furihata straightened out his shaking legs, made sure Akashi was properly supported by his arm, and unhooked the latch on the window so that it swung open. He narrowed his eyes against the sudden wind which blew into the room, but Akashi pushed past him and grasped the ledge, leaning out into the pouring rain. Furihata stared, still anxious, as Akashi raised his hand to the air. 

He was performing the spell using the falling rain instead of the bowl of water.

Furihata watched, half worried, half astonished, as the colours began to dance about in the droplets falling past Akashi’s hand and the dark shapes flittered from drop to coloured drop, briefly possessing each one in turn. Some of the drops briefly turned golden and fell slower before reverting back to normal as the golden glow passed onto other droplets. Other colours overlapped with the golden drops, creating red glows, orange glows and a mysterious black glow which reminded him of an eclipse. Furihata was mesmerised. It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.

Gradually, Akashi’s shaking legs began to still and his dignified figure returned. The colours in the droplets faded, and when he closed the window and turned to face Furihata his eye was back to the calming shade of red instead of the fierce, burning yellow. Relief settled in the latter’s chest. He was alright. 

“Kouki?” Akashi’s voice startled him. The sorcerer’s face was tweaked into a very slight frown. “You look dazed.” 

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine!” Furihata put his hands up in protest, caught off guard again by the use of his given name. He really needed to get used to that. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I-I was too busy watching the water. Both times. I’m sorry.” He looked away awkwardly. 

“You did nothing wrong.” Akashi’s words made him glance up in surprise. “The last time I collapsed, I had already finished the spell, so nothing was interrupted. This time I was in the middle of the spell, so when my eyes left contact with the water the images were disrupted and wouldn’t settle until I had completed it.” Furihata listened, fiddling with his collar. “If I wait, it goes away, but then I gain nothing from the session. Plus the waiting period is not pleasant. You are here because of this; you assist me in completing the sessions. Opening the window as quickly and responsively as you did was good. Well done.” 

He blinked at Akashi in surprise. Was he being… praised? It wasn’t anything special, but it still made him feel lighter all over and he felt his mouth curve into a slight smile. An unfamiliar, fluttery feeling danced in his chest. “Thanks…” 

He noticed Akashi looking weary and opened his mouth to say something, but Akashi shook his head. “I’m fine. I’ll just need some time to get my energy back.”

“Okay.”

There was a short silence. 

Furihata shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot and began to edge towards the stairs. “U-um… should I go…?”

Akashi shook his head. “You may stay until the rain stops. It’ll stop soon; it’s calmer than it was earlier.”

He nodded quickly, glad that he didn’t have to go back out into that awful weather. “Alright. Thank you.”

They sat on Akashi’s bed for the rest of the storm, just exchanging words about their days and other general things. Akashi mentioned that he wouldn’t be up to another session tomorrow or the next day since he needed to save his energy, which Furihata understood and agreed to. He would be needed again right after those two days.

As they talked, they listened to the rain hammering on the window. It gradually became softer and softer until the atmosphere grew calm, filled with the sounds of rustling branches and the quiet tweeting of birds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while again! I've been busy with school and other things, which are unfortunately only going to get heavier, so I apologise in advance for more delays. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Furihata had given up trying to find a rational explanation for his decisions. 

He was currently hovering on the edge of the clearing, unsure whether to step into it or not, and had been there for about five minutes. He had looked around enough to verify that Akashi was, once again, in his house, and that he would have to knock on his door to get his attention, which he wasn’t quite prepared to do especially because this was an unplanned visit. It had been a day since their last session, and he’d spent yesterday at home reading and helping Momoi clear leaves from the garden while Aomine was out on a job. 

It was almost November – the 29th of October in fact, and his legs were beginning to tingle from standing still for so long in the chilly air. He needed to make a decision soon. 

Why was he here? Well, to put it simply, he wanted to see Akashi again. He couldn’t find any other explanation. He enjoyed the other’s company and liked hearing about what he had to say, and from what he could tell Akashi didn’t despise him either. It worked out. Plus, he had nothing to do today, what with Momoi and Aomine both being out. And presumably Akashi was free since he said he needed the next two days to rest his mind. 

Of course, if Akashi didn’t want him there, he would go home, but he didn’t want to think about that. It gave him an unpleasant pang in his chest.

Furihata checked Akashi wasn’t at the window before making his move and stepping out into the clearing.

He almost jumped back into the trees as a sudden feeling of doubt made his heart sink, but he dug in his heels and started half-walking, half-shuffling towards the house.

When he eventually got to the door, he hovered there for a few seconds, still reconsidering this idea. Nevertheless, after a couple of moments, he tapped on the door with his knuckles. 

After a moment he heard movement from inside combined with footsteps walking to the door and felt his stomach twist with nerves. He took a deep breath. It would be fine. Akashi was reasonable. Furihata would explain himself, and if Akashi said it was okay—

The door opened, stopping his train of thought.

The two stared at each other. Akashi blinked at him, looking slightly confused.

Furihata was the first to speak. “Um.”

“I saw you from the top window. What is it?”

His mind blanked. “U-um…” What was he even supposed to say? What HAD he come here for? All he could do was stare at the other with his mouth slightly open, his jaw twitching as he tried to form words. 

Silence followed. Eventually, Akashi sighed. “If you want to say something—”

“Can we talk?” Furihata blurted out, then cursed himself for interrupting him. He was already off to a bad start; he didn’t want to make this even worse.

Fortunately, Akashi didn’t seem to be angry, just mildly irritated. He raised an eyebrow. “Talk about what?”

“Nothing in particular…” He looked away. _I should’ve rehearsed this earlier,_ he thought glumly.

There was a pause before Akashi huffed in amusement. “I see. Alright.”

 _“I see”? What’s he talking about?_ Furihata wailed internally as Akashi walked past him to the fallen tree. He quickly followed. Akashi patted the bark next to him when they reached it. “Sit, then.”

Furihata quickly complied. Akashi glanced at him. “So. Any particular reason why you came?”

Crap, he blanked again. All Furihata could do was stare at the other, his mind racing for words.

“You are aware we don’t have a session today, right?”

“Y-yeah, of course!” Finally, he’d found his voice. “I was just…” He swallowed. “I had nothing really to do, so… I just… decided to…”

“To put it simply, you were bored, so you came here.”

That stung a little. It sounded slightly accusatory. Furihata bit his lip and looked at the floor while giving a small nod.

He prayed Akashi wouldn’t send him away, and a huge sense of relief overcame him when Akashi said his next words. “Well, I don’t have much to do either. I don’t mind spending today with you.”

Furihata felt his face light up like a sunrise as he raised his head in Akashi’s direction. “Really?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie.”

Okay, so… this was a step in the right direction. But what was there to talk about? Furihata shifted his feet and fiddled with his fingers, not sure where to look. “Great! So… um…”

He was well aware of the tension in the air and the deafening silence between them. He was also aware of his heart speeding up as he racked his brains for something to say. A bird tweeted, and Akashi glanced in its direction. Furihata internally gulped. _Crap, he’s bored. Well, obviously. I haven’t even said anything interesting!_

Searching for ways to distract himself, he began to pick at the bark of the tree. Every part of his brain was screaming at him to say something and just end this uncomfortable silence.

_Why is it so awkward?!_

“H… how was your day?” Probably best to start with the little things.

Akashi’s gaze remained on the surroundings. It was almost a relief for Furihata that he didn’t have those unnerving red eyes on him this time. “It’s been alright. I haven’t done much since it’s barely the afternoon, but I read a little earlier.”

“R-reading! Right. I like reading too.” Furihata could feel himself internally dying at every word which came out of his mouth. Akashi already knew he liked to read. “I kinda wish I had more books, though…”

“Mhm.” Akashi’s eyes were on him again. Furihata felt his mouth go dry.

He ran through his mind for more things that Akashi was interested in and tried again. “H-how’s the shogi going?”

“It’s going fine. I played some yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Furihata blinked at him, puzzled. “Who with?”

“Myself.”

He hadn’t been expecting that answer, but it somehow didn’t surprise him. “Oh.”

As silence descended upon the pair again, Furihata looked around while trying to think of something else to say. Eventually, his gaze landed on Akashi – or rather, his feet since he was looking at the floor. He blinked in surprise. One of Akashi’s feet was still, the other was shuffling slightly, stirring up dead leaves and dirt and shifting them from side to side. When Furihata glanced at his face, he saw him staring slightly down near his foot, his lips pressed into a slightly thinner line. A sudden realisation jolted him. Was Akashi bad at small talk, too? He didn’t seem like he had interacted much with others until Furihata came along, or at least, not that Furihata had heard of. He didn’t look bored; he looked like he was thinking, but he hadn’t said anything yet.

Furihata decided to take matters into his own hands. “Maybe we should go for a walk.”

Akashi’s expression grew attentive again and his foot ceased the motions. “Oh? Where?”

“Nowhere in particular, just… around the woods, I guess.”

There was a small pause. “Alright.” Furihata jumped up as Akashi raised himself from the tree trunk. “As long as you entertain me.”

Well, he wasn’t doing a very good job of that so far, even if that last sentence didn’t sound completely serious. Furihata sighed and straightened up. “Okay, let’s…” He took a step in one direction, then stopped when he realised Akashi was walking in another. “Ah, wait…”

He turned to follow him, tripped over his own foot and fell almost flat on his face.

This day wasn’t going very well at all.

As he scrambled to sit up, brushing twigs from his coat and feeling overcome with humiliation, he noticed that Akashi had come back and was extending his hand to him. Furihata stared up at him, aware of how much of a mess he must look right now, and then reached up to grasp his hand. “Th-thank you…”

Akashi’s eyebrows were slightly raised, and the line of his lips looked thinner than normal. He didn’t look impressed at all, but he didn’t look angry or irritated either. It was almost… amused, in some strange way as if he were trying to stop himself from chuckling. After pulling Furihata off the ground, he regarded him for a few moments before picking a leaf out of his hair, to the latter’s surprise. “Watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry…” 

He waited for Furihata to catch up to him this time before continuing walking until they were out of the clearing and making their way down a path in the woods. 

It was rather silent for a while, but less awkward now that they were walking instead of sitting waiting for someone to speak. Eventually, Furihata broke the silence with a sigh. “I can’t wait for spring. I don’t like the cold.”

“I can tolerate it. I don’t mind any of the seasons. Although, the heat can be irritating sometimes,” Akashi replied, looking up at the almost-bare trees. 

Furihata just shrugged. “I can deal with the heat, but I get cold easily. I wish I was better with winter. It looks so pretty when snow falls.”

“It does look rather nice.”

“Have... have you ever played in the snow? As a child?”

“Probably, but I don’t recall it.”

“I-I see.” Furihata wondered what kind of life Akashi had led as a child. He then realised the other hadn’t finished speaking. “The people I spent my time with often did, but I rarely took part. I did occasionally, but it never really interested me like it did to them.”

Furihata smiled slightly glanced down at the ground. The undergrowth was beginning to thicken, but he didn’t pay it much attention. “I guess I can kind of relate to that. My brother and sister used to play quite a lot. I would join them, but I never got too involved because it would often — ow!”

A branch smacked him in the face.

Furihata rubbed his nose and stared at the twig in front of him, feeling almost offended. Akashi, who had witnessed the whole thing, looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter. Furihata looked from the branch to the sorcerer in mortification. Heat rose in his cheeks. He really felt like snapping the stick in half.

A smile danced at the corners of Akashi’s lips. “Sorry. That may have been my fault.” Furihata noticed there were other branches sticking out of the undergrowth in front of him and wondered if they should take another path, but Akashi seemed to sense his uncertainty and reached forward to pull them back out of the way. “Come on.”

Furihata blinked at him in surprise, half at the fact that Akashi was helping him and half at the fact that his heart rate had noticeably sped up. He tried to ignore it, thanked him hesitantly, and then picked his way through the overgrown path until the plants thinned out and they could walk normally again.

Conversation seemed to flow more smoothly after that. Akashi stopped replying with short, snippy sentences and instead seemed to be making an effort to actually hold the conversation – which he turned out to be actually quite good at, to Furihata’s relief. They were walking aimlessly but slowly, and Akashi seemed to be making sure they didn’t stray too far from familiar places by occasionally altering their path. He was also talking more than usual but didn’t seem to mind. Furihata listened carefully. He liked it a lot better this way, when he wasn’t constantly racking his brains for useful points to add to a conversation which was already interesting enough.

Akashi was nice to listen to. His voice was smooth and his words flowed in a way which was pleasant to the ears – he never stumbled or stuttered over his words, unlike Furihata. Whenever he spoke after Akashi had been talking for a while, it was like some kind of severe mood whiplash which almost made him wince. Akashi’s words were confident and his face was set in a calm, dignified expression as he spoke, his eyes set straight ahead and occasionally making eye contact with the other, who tensed every time and wondered if he would ever stop being unnerved by the red stare. Definitely not anytime soon. The sorcerer’s presence was too overwhelming, the gleam of his eyes too intense. They reminded him of rubies – although Furihata had never seen them, it seemed like a fairly accurate description.

It wasn’t until Furihata realised Akashi had stopped speaking and was looking at him expectantly that he realised he had been listening to the sound of his voice rather than the words he was saying. He started. “S-sorry, what was that?”

He hoped he’d imagined the glint of amusement in his eyes. “I said it’s getting dark. We should probably head back.”

“Huh?” Furihata took in his surroundings and realised with a jolt that Akashi was right. Panic rose in his chest. “Crap, we should. Mo… my sister will be worried if I stay out too late.” She would probably let him off, but she would question him, which he didn’t really want especially because she was already suspicious of his almost-daily walks. 

He was about to say goodbye and start walking back when he realised something else. “Where are we? I don’t know how to get home from here!”

The corner of Akashi’s mouth definitely quirked up that time. “Calm down. I’ll walk you back to the clearing and you can get home from there.”

Furihata stared at him, blinked, then took in what he’d said and felt the panic disintegrate. “O-oh. Thank you.”

He followed Akashi, careful not to trip over anything this time, until they got to the clearing where they said goodbye. Once he’d gotten to the part where the trees started, Furihata somehow couldn’t resist looking back, and saw with alarm that Akashi was still standing there watching him go. He tried to ignore the blush which rose to his face and hurried away into the woods, pressing his cold hands to his cheeks to cool them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this came out sooner than I expected laughs
> 
> I thiiiiink I have a fixed number of chapters for this thing now. I may change the max chapter number thingy at the top fairly soon.
> 
> Again, thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Furihata was turning the pages of one of his books in the kitchen, sitting in a chair by the table and leaning casually against the wall on his left. His legs were stretched out in front of him, and he occasionally stretched to relax his limbs before continuing with the book for a while longer. He had these periods where all he wanted to do was relax, even after not doing much during the previous days. Well, he had been to see Akashi the day before, but the session had gone smoothly unlike the previous one and they’d even chatted for a while afterwards. Furihata felt warm at the thought and felt himself smile slightly as he turned another page.

He looked up in surprise when Momoi entered the room, looking brighter than usual. She took in his expression and beamed in response. “Enjoying the book?”

Furihata paused in surprise, then quickly nodded. That was definitely what he’d been smiling about. “Mhm. I haven’t read this one in a while, so I’m picking up on a lot of things I didn’t notice before.”

“I like it when that happens. Although I’m not as much of a reader as you.” Momoi suddenly looked as if she’d remembered something and her pleasant expression changed to one of excitement. “Oh, that’s right! Furihata-kun, there’s a trial being held soon, which may result in another hanging.” Furihata felt a twinge in his stomach at the mention of a hanging, but kept listening. “I asked around and some people who had been involved in the incident told me some of the things they saw – things which may be used as evidence in the trial.”

“O-oh, I see.” Furihata took a mental note of his place in the book and set it to one side. “You’ve been gathering data again?”

She nodded. “Mind if I talk to you about it? It’s fun. Unless you want to keep reading the book?”

“Ah, no, it’s fine!” Furihata waved the thought away. “Go ahead.”

“Alright.” His sister’s excited face changed again, becoming thoughtful and calculating. She sat down at the chair opposite Furihata and rested her chin on her hands, her eyes narrowed.

It wasn’t too often that thieves were caught in their area since it was relatively quiet, but when the evidence of these trials was shown to be floating around in the open Momoi would be on it in a flash. It was one of her talents – gathering and analysing data, and she was amazingly good at it, better than anyone Furihata knew. He’d thought multiple times that it was a pity she couldn’t get a job to do with that instead of doing work around the house and occasionally going away to sell food; it was clear she enjoyed using her mind more than her hands.

Her voice was calmer and more collected when she spoke, too. “The first occurrence in this town seemed to occur on October 25th, as told by one of our neighbours who also happened to catch a glimpse. The thief took mostly food – mainly meat and fruit but also some money. Upon hearing this, I assumed the thief would have gotten out of there quickly to store these things. However, after asking around, I heard of another occurrence which took place only around half an hour after this one – and by the same person, from what the stall owners described. So then I wondered if the thief had a storage area on the way to the other person, but after checking the quickest route from one stall to the other I decided there was no way this could be possible, especially since the incidents happened far away from each other and there would be no time to store the stolen goods. Are you following?”

Furihata tried to process the information. “Kinda...”

“Any thoughts so far?”

“Um…” He pondered and tried to give a satisfactory answer. “They weren’t the same person?”

“On the right track. Listen.” She cleared her throat. “When investigating things like this, you have to check and observe your sources. The first person seemed trustworthy enough – a fairly young girl who lived with her grandmother and was unlikely to get mixed up in anything. However, I had never spoken to the second person, and after asking around, I realised hardly anyone else knew them either.”

Furihata listened.

“Now, this partially boils down to the opinions of the police when talking to witnesses. The first person was a young girl. The second was a man. It’s a widely accepted fact that people are more likely to listen to the second rather than the first; they think their opinion is more valuable. However, in this case, this was the turning point.” She looked confident and collected as if she was coming to the end of her explanation. “People cannot be in two places at the same time. People are more likely to listen to the man than the young girl, so they will look more into the second incident rather than the first. Most people didn’t seem to know this man.”

She seemed to be listing the facts for her own purpose as well as his. Furihata waited for her explanation.

“The conclusion I have come to was the second witness was the culprit. He made up the information about the second occurrence – plus he is not native to this town and thus nobody knew him well enough to tell if he was lying or not. He also hasn’t been seen since – even after being told to attend the trial which is probably occurring right now. The culprit was also described as being a relatively average height but having an unimpressive build, and when they talked to the second witness he was wearing a long coat, possibly to conceal his looks. If he wasn’t the direct culprit, he may have been involved.”

Furihata had been listening closely. Momoi’s investigations were always interesting to listen to, especially when everything finally added up to a conclusion like a short story. He felt like a little kid thinking about this, but it was true. He tilted his head. “Is it certain that he’s the culprit?”

She shook her head. “It’s never certain. I could be going off on a completely wrong line here, but you can’t afford to let anything which seems out of place go unnoticed.”

“Do you think they’ll pay any attention to him?”

“They will certainly be suspicious. The current suspect doesn’t seem to bear any relation to this man, and if they find out nobody knew the latter and that he’s suddenly disappeared from the town they will try very hard to find him. Much harder than usual, especially since Queen Aida said she would be making more of an effort to deal with these scenarios.”

Furihata gave her a half smile. “You’re really clever, Momoi-san,” he said, feeling proud of her even though she tended to look after him instead of the other way around. She did that with Aomine, too. He tended to forget just how much his sister put up with in their household and felt a sudden burst of admiration and affection for her; he was almost certain he wouldn’t be able to handle it if he were in her position.

Momoi smiled back. “Thank you! I haven’t gotten a chance to do this in a while.”

She appeared to be getting up to leave and Furihata reached for his book again, but then she cleared her throat. “Furihata-kun, don’t you have a job today?”

“Eh?” Furihata looked at her, grabbed the watch which he’d taken down from his room and started in surprise. “Crap!” Jumping up from the table, he marked his place in the book with a scrap of paper and pushed it to the side again. “Thanks for reminding me – it’s almost time and I don’t want to be late.”

“S’alright. Have fun!”

He thanked her again and pushed his chair in, leaving the book on the table and hurrying out to get ready before rushing out the door.

***

Furihata couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt like using his full strength to slam the door shut, but he refrained from doing it this time only by sheer willpower. He still slammed it – just a little bit, but it was still enough to bring Momoi out of her room upstairs.

“Careful!” she called down to him. “I don’t want you breaking anything.”

He gritted his teeth. He wanted to storm upstairs but the rational part of him didn’t want to seem like a bratty child, however he also didn’t want to speak to anyone right now. Unfortunately for that part, Momoi seemed to sense something was wrong and began to make her way down the stairs.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, sounding more concerned than before.

“My employer.”

“What did he do?”

Furihata huffed. “Well, the first half went fine. Then he gave me a short break, and afterwards things started to go wrong.” Momoi gestured for him to continue, but he was already speaking. “The first half consisted of stuff that I already knew how to do, like preparing milk and simple things like that. But the second half was almost entirely lifting heavy things, even though I’d told him I’m not the best person for that before he hired me. So after a while I started slowing down, and he started yelling at me for it!”

“He told me – while yelling – that I should be stronger at my age, and that no one was going to employ me if I didn’t put on muscle. He basically implied I was a failure, just because my strength is average. And not only that – he started giving me even more things to move, maybe to build up my strength or maybe just to be a jerk, I don’t know. He even shouted at me while I was doing it, which didn’t help at all. But the point is, my arms feel like they’ve been bent in multiple directions, my shoulders hurt, I’m in a foul mood and all I got for it is this!”

Furihata fumbled in his pocket and yanked out the pay. It was barely half the amount he’d been promised, and Momoi recognised this and looked at it incredulously. “That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all.”

“I know!” He wanted to stamp his foot but managed to restrain himself. He was still angry, although it was a relief to find that Momoi agreed with him. The money earned went towards the entire household, after all.

His sister stepped back and huffed. “He sounds like bad news. I wouldn’t go back to him again, if I were you.”

“I’m not going to. No way.” Furihata frowned at the floor. 

He looked up to see Momoi studying him curiously – she ceased it once he met her eyes, but he wasn’t in the mood to let it go unnoticed. “What?”

She simply shrugged. “I’m just surprised you’re not sad about it. I was partly worried about you getting jobs because there can be unreasonable employers and I didn’t want them to damage your spirit in any way. But it looks like it’s had the opposite effect, so… I suppose I’m a little glad.”

Furihata blinked at her, his anger momentarily fading. She had a point. “I suppose… you’re right, I don’t feel sad at all. Just really annoyed.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t think you can focus on reading while you’re like that. Why don’t you take a walk to calm down?”

He responded with a sigh. “Fair enough. Okay.”

Leaving the money with his sister, he stepped outside into the cold November air once again.

Aimlessly walking was nice. He hadn’t been doing it much recently since he was usually walking with a place in mind, but this time he was just putting one foot in front of the other with a vague idea of the path he would take. After walking along the road by the woods, he would turn into the woods and circle back. Simple as that. He felt himself calming down already, although the pacing had only taken the edge off his anger.

After a short while, he turned into the trees. He was just walking, listening to the sounds of the branches rustling in the wind and the occasional chirp of a bird, when something caught his eye in the woods. 

A figure with red hair. Something inside him jolted and he was about to step forward to say something, but then the person turned around and saw him too.

There was a short silence. Akashi and Furihata stared at each other, neither of them saying a word for a few moments until the former broke the silence.

“Kouki. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“M-me too…” Crap, he stuttered already. Why did he always stutter when talking to Akashi?

Akashi looked a little concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?” He hadn’t told the other about the incident at work, but he seemed to have deduced something wasn’t quite right anyway. To be honest, Furihata didn’t feel as angry now; it had mostly gone away when he’d seen Akashi. He hadn’t expected that, but he wasn’t complaining. 

He sighed and explained the situation. Akashi watched him intently, listening without taking his eyes off Furihata’s face. This didn’t go unnoticed and Furihata tripped over his words a few times because of it, but he managed to get the full story out. 

Akashi regarded him. “Well, you seem to have calmed down a bit now. Going for a walk was the right choice. Tell me, did you stand up to the employer?”

He shook his head quickly. “I’m not confident enough for that yet.”

“You should if this happens again. It’s good for building confidence.”

“M-maybe.” He looked away, fiddling with his coat and not looking directly at Akashi. When the latter shifted slightly, his eyes automatically went back to him and he quickly looked away again when he felt heat rise in his cheeks. Akashi’s stare was a force to be reckoned with.

Akashi pulled the neck of his coat forward and adjusted his scarf. “Well, I’d better get going. Oh, and Kouki?”

His first name again, but the feeling it gave didn’t make him uncomfortable anymore. He almost forgot to give a response. “Y-yes?”

“Well done for not beating yourself up about it. It wasn’t your fault, and I can tell you recognised it. I’m glad.”

Furihata stared at him in surprise, feeling his face slowly relax and the corners of his mouth start to rise. He forced them to stay where they were; he didn’t want to look weird. “Th… thank you…”

He received nothing more than a nod before Akashi turned and walked away into the trees. Furihata stared after him for a moment, biting his lip as the strange fluttery feeling rose in his chest again, before turning and hurrying in a different direction towards home.

Furihata was in a much better mood when he got home, his feet light and his expression happy. He didn’t particularly want to finish the book in the kitchen this time, so he took it and made his way upstairs to his bedroom.

However, no matter how hard he tried to focus, he always ended up spacing out at some point, staring at the letters on the page without reading or taking them in at all. His mind would wander to random topics, ranging from the trial taking place to the change of seasons to his job, but he tried not to think about that last one.

However, today, the thoughts he had when he zoned out very much centred around Akashi. Plus he found him much more enjoyable to think about rather than any of the other normal things, and just sat there for a while staring into space with the sorcerer on his mind.

He was still intimidated by him, definitely, but he had observed that Akashi did indeed have a kind side. The fluttery feeling returned once more as he thought of how he’d been praised by him earlier, and how much better he’d felt after that conversation. The effect Akashi had on him was strange.

He hadn’t realised he was smiling until his mind jolted him out of his trance. Blinking, he realised that his cheeks were flushed with heat and he raised his hand to his face in surprise. He hadn’t even been thinking about anything in particular, so why was he blushing? And, come to think of it, why did his heartbeat seem so erratic? 

What had he been thinking about? Akashi. Right.

Wait.

That fluttery feeling again. 

Furihata’s eyes widened as he realised something. No way. That couldn’t be right; it made no sense. 

And yet, it made all too much sense – so much that he wondered how he didn’t realise it earlier.

He… liked Akashi. Furihata had developed a crush.

Feeling his insides twist at this realisation, Furihata hugged his knees to his chest and fell to the side onto his bed, burying his face in his bed covers with an audible groan.

Of all people, it just had to be Akashi Seijuurou. A powerful sorcerer, feared even by people who didn’t know what he was just because of his mere presence. An extraordinary person who, despite being friends with Furihata (could he call them friends? He wasn’t really sure) would never like such an average person like him.

And yet, regardless of this he seemed to be supportive. Furihata remembered his praise from earlier and buried his face in his hands while realising that he wasn’t even denying the feelings he had for him. That was… quick, but it wasn’t like there was any point in ignoring them. It just seemed so obvious now; why he hadn’t been able to look Akashi in the eye, why he had blushed and stuttered while speaking as the sorcerer watched him. 

Plus, he was good looking. Maybe even beautiful.

Furihata rolled over and laid an arm over his eyes with a sigh. He really was acting like a love-struck maiden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Momoi's analysis scene was pretty fun to think about but I've been wanting to write the end scene for aaaaages //sighs heavily
> 
> I'm really tired and have nothing much to say about this, so I'll be heading off now. I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!
> 
> (oh yeah, I'm gonna add the max number of chapters now! Don't be surprised if this changes - sorry for not being professional, aha,,)


	15. Chapter Fifteen

“Kouki, pay attention.”

“E-eh?”

Furihata jolted out of his daze. They were seated at opposite sides of a small table in Akashi’s room, the latter looking at him with slight exasperation on his face. His hand was hovering over the shogi board on the table, clutching one of the pointed pieces between his fingers. Furihata blinked and tried to focus. Akashi sighed. “Were you listening?”

He looked down in embarrassment. “…No.”

“I’ll explain it again.” Guilt made him shrink slightly into his chair. “You can’t put your pawn down in the same file as another pawn. This does not apply to promoted pawns, but both the pawns in question are just regular. Try again.”

Furihata looked glumly at the board and then sat up. After fiddling with the bottom of his shirt and glancing over the other pieces, he flipped the piece over and placed it down in the same spot.

Akashi frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

Oops. “That’s not allowed, is it…”

“Of course not. You’re trying to place a captured piece down on its promoted value. Why would it be allowed?”

Flushing, he looked away shyly. “Just testing.”

He heard the tapping of the pieces on the table as Akashi fiddled with his own captured ones. “If you want me to help you, just say so. I offered to teach you, after all.”

 _Maybe, but it’s not that easy,_ Furihata wailed internally. He didn’t want to look like he couldn’t understand anything without it being explained to him three times; he knew he was better than that. He just hadn’t taken into account how distracted he would be after his… realisation. It was the first time he had seen Akashi after figuring it out two days ago, and he hadn’t expected it to have as much of an impact on their normal interactions. He couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t look directly at Akashi – even less than he could before, and his gut kept flipping whenever he thought about it. It was like he had reverted to the state he had been in back when they had first met, just with additional feelings. 

Nonetheless, the happiness he felt in Akashi’s presence now made sense, and he tried to focus on that.

“You’re spacing out again.”

He jumped. “What? Huh?”

“I was just telling you the pieces you had on the board currently would be fine for now.” Akashi raised his eyebrows. “What are you thinking about? You’re even jumpier than usual today.”

Furihata’s heart sped up and he shook his head quickly. “N-nothing! Nothing at all!” _Way to cover it up, moron._

He risked a nervous glance at Akashi and saw with alarm that his mouth seemed to be quirked upwards in amusement. Before he could protest further, Akashi spoke. “Hm. Well, why don’t we take a break? We’ve been playing for a while, and you seem restless.”

Furihata’s shoulders sagged in relief; he hadn’t brought up his blushing face or discussed the subject any further. “That would be good.”

“Let’s go, then.” Akashi got up from his chair, leaving the board untouched. Furihata followed, looking over the board once more and inwardly laughing a little at how obviously unbalanced their levels of skill were (although it was to be expected) before following.

They made their way downstairs and out into the clearing, with Furihata trailing close behind Akashi all the way. They stopped at their usual spot by the fallen tree, where Akashi raised his palm, seemingly staring into space. When Furihata looked closer, he could see some very slight distortion around Akashi’s hand.

“A-are we…” He broke off when the latter turned around, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Wha-”

Furihata’s knees buckled underneath him and he let out a startled yelp as he fell, fortunately onto the tree and not the ground. He sat there, wide-eyed in confusion, staring at Akashi. “Wh… wha…”

The sorcerer smirked. “Apologies. I want to test a few other spells today, instead of the usual one. Stand up.”

He stared at Akashi, nervously picking at the bark of the tree. Come to think of it, he had barely added any pressure on his shoulder – it had been as if a supernatural force had shot through him and made him weak like a puppet. Furihata stood up, testing his weight on the ground and feeling relieved when he confirmed that his limbs still worked. “O-other spells?” His voice shook like a toddler’s and he felt his face go red again.

Akashi didn’t comment on it. “Like that one. Most people have names for them. Personally I think they sound a little silly, plus they tend to blur with one another, but I use them to keep track of things. That particular one is commonly called the Spell of Will.”

Will, huh. Furihata attempted to sound smart and deduce what it could do from that. 

“So… you can make things… do things?”

_Good job, self._

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” _No, really?_ Akashi’s eyes were glinting playfully again, and Furihata prayed he would stop. It was making his stomach do somersaults. Fortunately, he went on to explain the spell a little more. “I can’t make specific things happen; that requires too much brainpower which I don’t currently have. I can’t make someone go and fetch something for me, but I can do what I just did to you – make them go limp. I can do it to varying degrees, too. Come here.”

Furihata gulped and stepped forwards, close enough for Akashi to place his hand on his shoulder again. Managing to make eye contact with the other for just a second, he saw a spark of gold in his left eye before a minor jolt ran through him, causing him to tremble and almost collapse. Akashi caught him before he could topple over. “Like that. It’s simple.”

Furihata was very aware of Akashi’s hands on his arms and was half relieved, half disappointed when he removed them. “I-I see…”

Akashi stepped back. “You’ve already seen the Spell of Gathering, which I did with the water from your coat not too long ago.” Furihata nodded, trying to make a note of this information as he carried on. “There are others, too – like the Spell of Repel which basically does the opposite of that, and the Spell of Speed, which should be self-explanatory.” Never mind, he probably wouldn’t remember all of these. “Each sorcerer has a spell which they’re best at. The Spell of Will is mine.”

Best at? “What about your eye spells?”

“Those are different.” Akashi shook his head. “They’re something specific to me, as far as I know. I could give them a name, but I haven’t yet.”

“Oh.” Suddenly Akashi seemed a lot more extraordinary. “Do you think you will? Name them, I mean.”

“Maybe one day.” He didn’t look very interested in the subject. “Come. We’re doing the Spell of Repel.”

The Spell of Repel was exactly like Akashi had described it – the opposite of what he had done with Furihata’s soaked coat. Using the pond round the back of his house and telling Furihata to stand back, Akashi gathered the water to his palm before sending it a mental command which made it shoot away from his hand, splattering onto the surrounding grass and soaking into the earth. Furihata instinctively covered his face with his arm, and then slowly removed it when the blast somehow avoided him.

There were varying degrees to this spell too, apparently – once, the water jumped about a foot away from Akashi’s palm and dropped sloppily onto the ground, and another time the ball practically exploded and the water splashed both of them in the face. Furihata wasn’t expecting it that time and cried out in alarm, stumbling backwards. When Akashi revealed he could control where it went, Furihata huffily questioned why he didn’t tell him before.

“Why did you tell me to stand back when you were directing it?” he complained, wiping his face and trying to hide his growing smile.

Akashi brushed the water from his own face, appearing to be smiling too. “Your reactions amused me. That’s all.”

“Any normal person would react like that!” Furihata retorted, unable to keep the laughter from his voice. It was rather ridiculous, really; here they were, a powerful sorcerer and an average, easily-scared boy laughing over being hit in the face by a jet of water. The two just didn’t typically mix. Furihata would never have thought this would be happening to him, but it was. 

His heart skipped a beat when he realised that he wasn’t the only one laughing. Akashi’s shoulders were shaking slightly, his mouth curved upwards – a proper smile this time, not a slight quirk of the corner of his lips. He was laughing, really laughing, not just a quick breath of air through his nose or an amused “hmph” like he did usually. Furihata watched with wide eyes, his hand frozen in the middle of drying his face, his laughter trailing off as he forgot about it, making Akashi’s stand out even more. 

Akashi straightened up, drying the sides of his face as his chuckles faded. “Alright. We’re done here.”

Watching him, not caring about his quickening heartbeat or how his face was slightly flushed from joy, just observing the unusually warm expression on Akashi’s face and his relaxed shoulders and bright eyes, Furihata wished the day wouldn’t end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter so far, whoops. Hopefully it was enjoyable...
> 
> I hope the little shogi in this chapter was accurate; I just watched a video and took notes. If you notice anything wrong, please tell me!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Furihata was shivering.

Momoi noticed. “Walk quicker, Furihata-kun. Then you won’t be as cold.”

He did as she said, even though it didn’t really help. “That’s not really the reason…”

“Hm? Ah.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “You’re nervous?”

He bit his lip and nodded. “Mm.”

She smiled and patted him on the back. “It’ll be over soon. Just like last time, remember? And you were fine then!”

He looked down. The slightly frosted ground crunched under his feet, the wind buffeting the bottom of his coat and his scarf from side to side. Okay, maybe he was a little cold, but he was more apprehensive than anything else. They were going to another hanging – the result of the trial Momoi had talked about earlier. He was trying to avoid thinking about it too hard, but it was clear that his newfound self-assurance didn’t make him any less nervous about death.

They reached the square. One of Momoi’s friends hurried up and greeted them one by one. “Momoi-chan, Furihata-kun, Aomine-kun! Are you staying long?”

“Just until it’s over,” Momoi told her. “It’s chilly out, so we want to get back.”

A strong gust of wind swept through the square as if to confirm her point. Her friend huddled into her coat and shivered, looking irritated. “Sure, sure. This wind is really annoying.” The two separated slightly from Aomine and Furihata, but not out of earshot. Furihata could still hear their voices, and concentrated on them instead of what was about to take place.

Her friend’s voice was calm and inquisitive. “Queen Aida is really cracking down on thieves, isn’t she?”

“I know!” Momoi’s voice was more enthusiastic. “I honestly didn’t expect much, I mean, I think every new ruler says they’re going to, but few actually do. She’s doing pretty well though; there’s even another trial being held soon.”

“Oh, really? I wonder if it’ll go as good as this one did. The suspect wasn’t even the one who did it – they had to run out and catch the real one, and they managed it!”

A jolt of recognition ran through Furihata as he listened. Was the man being hanged today the one Momoi had spoken about during her analysis?

He missed a chunk of the conversation – when he tuned in again, they seemed to be talking about something completely different. “I know, my father is complaining about that, too. I think-”

The clang of the bell barely reached him; he wasn’t paying attention to his other surroundings. Aomine elbowed him and he started in surprise. His brother looked down at him. “You were spacing out.”

Furihata cleared his throat and looked ahead to the centre of the square, trying to focus. The two girls had stopped talking and were looking on with interest. The clock on the wall read 4:25pm.

He couldn’t see very well from the back, but he could vaguely make out the man being led up the steps to the noose by one of the soldiers. The man in white was there again, with the piece of paper. His mouth opened to speak, but his voice was hard to hear from where Furihata was standing because of the distance and the wind.

“…execution… 4:35pm…” Furihata strained to hear, standing on his tiptoes to see what was happening, then decided it wasn’t worth it and slumped back down. He heard random snippets of the man’s speech, including the fact that the criminal had also been found guilty of a couple of other things including attempted murder, which caused hushed murmuring to sweep across the crowd. That explained why he was being given the death penalty, then.

He watched the spectacle on the wooden platform. The noose swung slightly in the breeze. 

Since straining to hear was growing tiresome, his mind began to wander. He recalled the last hanging he had been to – Haizaki’s, which he’d pushed out of his mind pretty soon after it’d happened. Come to think of it, he felt more relaxed this time than he did then, although maybe that was just a side-effect of not being able to hear the man in white speak.

He glanced up. The clock on the wall read 4:29pm.

Furihata’s mind strayed to Akashi and he remembered that he’d been at the last hanging. A twinge of hopefulness sparked in his chest and he rose up on his tiptoes again, scanning the crowd for the sorcerer, maybe to gain some kind of reassurance from his presence. Unfortunately, Akashi was nowhere to be seen; no red hair anywhere, not even at the very back of the crowd. His heart sank in disappointment.

Why had he been at the last hanging and not this one? Well, he had almost been caught instead of Haizaki. Did he want to see who the real criminal was?

He jolted. 

That’s right, Akashi had come so close to being caught back then. Furihata had almost given him away. It was just by some sudden instinct that he’d chosen not to.

Furihata could’ve gotten him killed.

The rational part of him was telling him that it was okay, that Akashi would’ve gotten out of it just fine with a spell or something, but he was too caught up in his thoughts to pay it enough attention.

_I could’ve killed him. I could’ve killed him._

Just the thought of it made him feel utterly sick.

Momoi’s voice brought him back to reality. “Furihata-kun?” Her tone was hushed and concerned. “You’ve gone really pale.”

He stared at her, his mouth trying to form words. “I…”

“Do you want to leave?” Furihata barely registered her question. The image of Haizaki dangling from the noose came to mind, and as much as he tried to push it out, it only became replaced by an image of Akashi in the same place, swinging to and fro, his neck wrenched out of its normal position. His head was spinning. Momoi repeated her question, and all he could do was nod.

She took him by the arm and he heard her briefly explaining the situation to a confused Aomine before gently pulling him away from the crowd. He clung to her and dimly wondered if people were staring, but he didn’t really care at this point.

“I feel faint,” he croaked when they were a fair distance away from the throng of people. 

“Shh, it’s okay. We’ll get you home, and you can lie down.” The conviction in her voice made him feel a little better and he felt the strength returning to his legs, his breathing growing stronger and steadier.

Akashi was still alive. He hadn’t been captured, hanged, or murdered. Thinking that made him feel more relaxed. Furihata wanted to see him, but Momoi definitely wouldn’t let him leave the house today, plus he didn’t want to intrude on Akashi again when he may be occupied.

The two of them reached the house and Momoi quickly ushered him inside, taking his coat and attempting to take his scarf but leaving it when she realised he was shivering. After she had taken off her outerwear too, she accompanied him up the stairs.

Furihata entered his room, following Momoi’s instructions to lie down on his bed. His face sank into his pillow and he heard his sister saying she would get him a glass of water, before his door closed and the pattering of footsteps faded away as she hurried down the stairs. He lay still for a short while, before rolling over and staring at the ceiling, his head beginning to clear.

Damn these feelings. He really, really wanted to see Akashi, but that was impossible right now. He could wait until tomorrow.

Momoi came in with the water, setting it down on his bedside table and waiting to make sure he drank it. Sighing, he pulled himself into a sitting position, took the cup and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

She watched him. “How are you feeling?”

He set down the water. “Better. I don’t feel dizzy any more, just sort of… weak.”

“That’s progress, then.” Momoi regarded him with slightly furrowed eyebrows. “What happened back there? Was it something specific?”

He bit his lip.

“I just want to know if we can prevent it from happening again.”

Furihata knew he had to lie, but his words caught in his throat. “N-n…”

Eventually, he trailed off. There was a short silence.

She sighed. “Okay, let’s try this. You’ve been acting different lately.” He stiffened despite the concern in her words. “You seem to be getting less… hesitant, which of course I’m happy about. But your behaviour today surprised me. If anything, I predicted you would be calmer this time than before, but you looked even more disturbed.”

He really didn’t want to be having this conversation. “I… I don’t know what happened…”

“I don’t think that’s true.” The tone of her voice softened, but that didn’t stop his heart rate from speeding up in apprehension. “I just want to help you. If nothing is the matter, then that’s fine. But please tell me clearly.”

He tried to say everything was fine. He really did, but his voice caught again – something stemming from a subconscious wish to not deceive his siblings. “I-I’m… I-I…” The trembling of his fingers didn’t help the situation and made him even more nervous. “N-nothing… nothing’s…”

Momoi kept silent, her eyes watching him expectantly and encouragingly. She meant well, he knew that, but it was just making him feel worse and more restless.

He couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear. He couldn’t tell her about Akashi; she would freak out. But maybe he secretly wanted her to know? Maybe he didn’t want to keep it a secret, and that’s why he was struggling to lie to her? Confusion made his head spin with panicked thoughts and before he knew it Momoi was speaking to him with worry etched on her face, asking if he was alright, but once again he couldn’t give an answer. He was too shaken from the revelation at the square, too anxious to think rationally and calmly, too weak to be thinking about and discussing this. Furihata shook his head from side to side, hugging his arms around himself and retreating into a ball on his bed, trembling. 

“Furihata-kun? Furihata-kun, are you alright?”

“N-no…”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you like this…” The helplessness she felt showed in her voice and he felt guilt pierce his chest. “I’ll leave, if you want. We don’t have to discuss it now. This was a bad time. I’m really sorry.”

Furihata looked up at her worried expression and gave a tiny nod, relieved that she wasn’t pressing any further. She turned away and hurried out of the room, but just before she did he noticed a shadow of pain cast across her face.

He sighed, feeling more relaxed now he was alone, but still shivering slightly. Taking off his boots and scarf, he burrowed under the covers, hoping to warm himself up and dispel any feelings of insecurity. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep, the stress of today catching up with him.

***

“Satsuki, stop it. How should I know what’s wrong? Why should anything be wrong?”

Furihata’s eyelids fluttered open to the sound of his siblings arguing downstairs. Aomine sounded annoyed and tired, as if he didn’t want to be having this conversation. He wondered briefly what was happening, and then froze when he heard Momoi’s response.

“It just doesn’t feel right! You must have noticed something too, haven’t you? How he comes home from walks with a bright and flushed face, when he didn’t do that at all before? I went out with him yesterday and he seemed like he was looking for something, or someone. I don’t know if it was subconscious or on purpose, but he was definitely doing it.”

He pulled his covers up to his nose. They were talking about him. He wished he hadn’t woken up.

Aomine’s tone was lined with irritation. “Stop thinking so hard. You gotta give him some space – you’re not his mum and he’s not a kid. Just leave him be, it’s not like he has to come to hangings.”

“’Just leave him be’? Dai-chan, do you know how sick I am of doing that?” Pain laced her words and the volume of her voice increased as she hissed out each syllable with a harshness that made Furihata shrink into his bed. “I’m sick of not being able to do anything in these situations. I’m sick of not being able to help because of how little I know!”

“Satsuki-”

“What’s the point of being able to deduce if all I can do is watch people fall apart?”

“Satsuki, keep your voice down, you’ll wake him!”

“You’re one to talk!” Despite her retort, she still responded to his comment and lowered her tone. Her voice shook. “I don’t want it to happen anymore.”

He heard a gruff sigh from his brother. “First of all, Furihata isn’t falling apart – he’s doing the opposite. Whatever’s going on, if anything, seems to be making him stronger. That’s not a bad thing. If bad things start happening, then we can… I dunno, do something, but for now we don’t have to. That okay?”

Momoi sounded slightly choked up. “Look at you, consoling me. That doesn’t happen often.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up.”

There was a pause. Furihata realised he’d been holding his breath and let it out in a rush.

Momoi spoke again, sounding quieter. “What do you think it is?”

Aomine huffed. “How should I know?”

Another pause. He prayed they would just go about their normal duties now and end the conversation there. What even was the time? The sky was darker than it had been when he fell asleep, but that didn’t really help.

“You don’t think it could be…”

“Satsuki, stop.”

“…Akashi?”

“Satsuki!” Aomine snapped. “Don’t go jumping to conclusions.”

“But it’s a possibility!”

Furihata tuned them out. He didn’t want to listen to them any longer for fear of hearing them speculate about him and discover more. He’d already heard enough.

So Momoi knew about Akashi, or at least, was considering the possibility of him being involved. To be honest, he should’ve expected as much; she had always been good at figuring things out, and he’d always known he didn’t conceal his emotions very well.

But how much would she discover? How much had she already discovered? Furihata felt himself shivering again and huddled further into his bed covers. He was still clothed, but he didn’t want to get out of bed. He needed a distraction. Sleep would be the best option right now.

The first thing his mind rested on was Akashi. As much as it embarrassed him, Furihata felt himself relax as he imagined Akashi’s arms around his waist, his chest pressed warmly against his back, hugging him from behind as he drifted off and filling his chest with a warm glow. His restless mind began to calm down. The thought of Akashi sleeping next to him made his face heat up, but it also succeeded in relaxing him and causing his eyes to slowly close. Before long he was asleep again, the thoughts of Akashi giving him enough security to calm down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't think of anything to say about this chapter, whoops. I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading!
> 
> edit: OH WAIT I FORGOT TO MENTION
> 
> Look at this amazing fanart drawn by tumblr user hikashi!   
> http://hikashi.tumblr.com/post/83062733329/keep-up-with-the-good-work-maid-of
> 
> I got really excited when I saw this! It's really pretty and everyone should go stare at it. Thank you so much!!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Akashi’s steps were quiet but confident, treading along the ground at a leisurely pace which matched his calm expression. In contrast Furihata’s uneven, hurried steps pattered along beside him – his pace felt off, even though he didn’t have to change it to walk next to Akashi. It was slightly sunnier today than the past few days had been which lifted his spirits and made him feel just a bit more more chipper; he could hear that his own voice was slightly lighter than usual. He felt a little self-conscious about it, but after a short while he decided he didn’t care. Besides, Akashi hadn’t brought it up.

Currently no one was saying anything. They were just walking, the only sound being their feet treading over the earth and Furihata occasionally fiddling with the sleeves of his coat. He kept glancing at Akashi and then looking away quickly so as not to be caught, but fortunately Akashi didn’t seem to notice.

The atmosphere was weird. Furihata tried to break the silence. “Uh… where are we going?”

Akashi’s voice was lighter too, he realised. “Into town, probably. That seems to be where we’re headed.”

“Ah. Okay.”

There was a short silence. Furihata stole a glance at Akashi again and realised they’d never actually been into town together, just around the forest. When had he last seen Akashi in town? Was it the very first time he’d seen him, when the other had been buying something and Furihata had run away because of the vague things Momoi and Aomine (mostly Momoi) had mentioned?

It then occurred to him that one of the last times he’d seen him in town was at Haizaki’s hanging. Remembering the events which had taken place a couple of days ago, Furihata swallowed and took the opportunity to shuffle just slightly closer to Akashi.

He flinched inwardly when he tried to look at the sorcerer again and accidentally met his eyes. _Crap, did he notice I moved closer?_

_Or is he looking at me too?!_

He immediately told himself to stop being self-centered. Akashi was on a whole other level compared to him, and definitely didn’t return his feelings. The thought was almost laughable. He shouldn’t push his luck.

Akashi broke the silence. “We’re here.”

They stepped out onto the path.

It was rather empty, which was to be expected of the outskirts, and Furihata was relieved. People in the area were almost certainly wary of Akashi if they had ever seen him; his aura was too… unusual to go unnoticed. Just by looking at him you could tell he wasn’t ordinary. He guessed that the reason no one had ever questioned him was because of the potent and sometimes even sinister atmosphere that surrounded him at most times, and wondered when he’d gotten so used to it.

They walked along the quiet road. Akashi looked thoughtful, glancing this way and that before nodding at a sidestreet. “That way.”

There were more people in that street. Furihata paused before following Akashi’s directions.

As they moved away from the outskirts, the number of people began to thicken. There still weren’t that many; it was a little cold after all, but there were more than usual since the sun was out. Furihata looked about and noticed that while there may have been people around, most of them were concentrated away from the two of them, with few exceptions. He felt a little self-conscious and stared at the floor, trying to hide his face. It was almost definitely a side-effect of walking with Akashi.

Akashi noticed his discomfort. “It’s alright. It’s just their instincts, they don’t actually know me.” He didn’t appear to be fazed at all (well, this did seem to happen to him every time he went out into town.) “It’s like when the average person sees a tall, heavyset man with a cruel look on his face – people generally stay further away from those types of people rather than others.”

Furihata guessed that was true, although Akashi was definitely not tall, heavyset or cruel-looking. “I’m alright as long as they don’t stare,” he mumbled.

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but he could’ve sworn Akashi moved closer.

They carried on walking, passing a couple of stands still trying to rake in the extra coins as winter crept closer and nearing one of the squares. This area seemed familiar to Furihata, but he couldn’t think of why until Akashi pointed to one of the more empty side streets. “Do you remember that place?”

He slowed down and looked at it, taking in the detail of the area and trying to remember where he’d seen it before. He dimly remembered falling down on the dirt here once, but why?

The memory felt like a spark in his head. “Oh! This was where I lost the ribbon. And where you gave it back to me,” he added, slightly quieter. Akashi nodded, a faint smile on his face. “I thought you’d remember.”

Tension hung in the air and Furihata was relieved when Akashi cleared his throat to end the silence. “Anyway. We should probably head around and go back soon.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

They started to walk along a line of streets which was roughly parallel to the outskirts instead of progressing deeper into the centre of town. Furihata examined the area to try and memorize it and figure out where he’d been before. He’d been exploring several times, of course, but there always seemed to be more of the town which he’d never seen before. They were currently travelling through one of these unfamiliar parts and he tried to take in as much as he could.

It appeared to be a popular place for stalls – understandably, as it was fairly near the square and there were bound to be larger amounts of people walking by. However, there seemed to be fewer than usual, and Furihata noticed that several of the stall owners seemed to be more frantic than normal, waving or calling when people passed by to attract their attention with a hint of desperation in their voices.

Most of the time, the vendors were ignored. A man selling apples called out to the two of them eagerly, but Furihata was startled and didn’t get a chance to respond before they walked by. Akashi barely spared the man a glance. They passed him, Furihata fidgeting uncomfortably.

He thrust his hand into his pocket and felt the round shapes of several small coins. 

Slowing down, he turned back towards the stand, and then looked back at Akashi. He had stopped not long after he did, expectantly watching him.

Furihata looked quickly at the money in his palm and decisively closed it. “I’ll only be a minute,” he said quickly, and hurried off back towards the stall.

He bought one apple, receiving a lot of thanks and praise from the man – who tried to sell him more but then realised he didn’t have much money and let him go with a few kind words.

“Thank you,” Furihata said as sincerely as possible, clutching the apple in his hands. It didn’t feel too bad or bruised. “Good luck with your stall.”

“Thank you very much! Have a nice day!”

Furihata returned to Akashi’s side before examining the apple. It didn’t look bad. “I think it’s okay,” he said, taking a bite.

Akashi watched him as they started walking again. After Furihata had taken his second bite of the apple, seemingly satisfied with the taste, he spoke.

“You’re a nice person.”

Furihata almost choked on his apple. “H-huh?”

“You didn’t buy it because you were hungry. You bought it because the stall wasn’t doing too well. That was a kind gesture.”

Crap, his face was going red. He fought to control his blush. “Thanks…?”

Akashi was looking straight ahead again. “It was nothing.”

Furihata realised his heart had sped up and his chest fluttered with mixed emotions. This was ridiculous. Akashi had only called him a nice person, yet here he was blushing like a maiden and fiddling with his sleeves. When had he started doing that? He hoped his body language wasn’t too obvious.

Sneaking another glance at Akashi, he felt his stomach flip when he saw the corner of his mouth was curved up into a smirk. Frustration curled in his gut. _Damnit. He probably knows he embarrassed me. He was probably trying to._

Another voice seemed to chime in with his thoughts. _He probably knows about your feelings full stop._

Oh god. Furihata didn’t want to think about that. But now that the possibility was out there, it was probably true. He’d never succeeded in hiding anything from Akashi in the past, so why should this be any different?

He didn’t get a chance to ponder this any further, as at that moment he hadn’t been looking where he was going and his face collided with someone’s chest. The figure was tall and bulky – it was like walking into a wall. Furihata let out a startled cry and stumbled backwards, barely noticing as the apple fell from his hands, and looked up at the man’s face.

Upon seeing who it was, his alarmed emotions morphed into ones of fear and anger.  
The man peered down at him in disdain. “You’re the brat that worked for me earlier, aren’t you? Still as clumsy as ever.”

His voice stuck in his throat. This was the man who had hired him for his last job, the one who had treated him like a weak idiot. Anger twisted in his stomach. He had several things to say to this man – which he’d repeated to himself several times in his head, but now that he was face to face with him for a second time he felt like a frightened terrier before a leering beast.

“Gotten any stronger?” The man reached forward and grabbed his arm – loosely, but roughly, causing Furihata to flinch away. Strong fingers pinched at his flesh. “Nope. And still quivering, I see.”

He made a desperate attempt to still his trembling body and look the man in the eye. Response. He needed to respond. _I’m not weak. I’m not weak. I’m not weak!_

Behind him, someone cleared their throat.

“Excuse me.”

The man looked up from Furihata and his eyes focused on a point somewhere behind him before briefly widening, then glinting with something which looked almost like fear. Furihata pulled his arm away and the man took a step back, hesitant. The hand which had grabbed him was twitching.

Regaining control of his limbs, Furihata spun around to see Akashi standing close behind him, his eyes alight with some kind of emotion like the hottest fire and the coldest ice melded together, directed straight at the man’s face. The dark aura around him felt even more intense than before.

After looking at him for another moment, Furihata snapped his head back around to his tormentor. The man was gone, hurrying away across the street.

“Kouki, let’s go.” Akashi’s voice was sharper than usual, his words short and snippy. Furihata jumped when he heard his name and quickly followed the other, who was already briskly walking away. The apple lay forgotten on the ground.

“W-where are we going?” he managed, still shaken from the experience. Come to think of it, the area seemed a lot emptier than it had before. Had the increased intensity of Akashi’s presence affected other people too, as well as the man it had been directed at?

Akashi didn’t slow. “We’re going back to the clearing.”

“Why?” Furihata asked, quickening his pace to walk alongside him. “Did you use a spell back there?”

“That wasn’t a spell.”

“O-okay.”

Neither of them spoke until they reached the outskirts once more. Akashi turned to Furihata once they were away from the other people on the paths.

“You realise we haven’t done a spell today, right?”

Furihata nodded quickly, although to be honest he hadn’t wondered about it until that moment.

“I want to try something different.” Akashi’s eyes were glittering with more intensity than usual and Furihata had to force himself to look directly at him, his heart fluttering half in awe, half in fear.

After a moment the sorcerer seemed to calm down, realising Furihata was uncertain. “Do you remember what I told you near the beginning? How my eye spells can be performed using several elements?”

He croaked out a reply. “Yeah?”

“We have done two of the possible ones – air and water. I want to complete the strengthening spells as soon as possible, and we are nearing the last one. I can keep limiting myself to only water and air, but it will take much longer.”

 _What happens after the spells are completed?_ The question weighed heavily on Furihata’s mind, but he was a little afraid of the answer. Besides, this probably wasn’t the best time for questions like that.

Akashi’s eyes gleamed with intensity once more. “This time, we’re using fire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to write a couple of scenes in this chapter for a while, so this was nice. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I can't believe I'm at over 140 kudos and the story isn't even done, wow;;


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Due to Akashi’s brisk walking, they arrived at the clearing quicker than Furihata had expected.

Akashi’s fiery gaze had cooled, being replaced by cold determination, making him look only a little less unnerving than he had previously. He quickly led Furihata to their usual spot by the fallen tree, but didn’t sit down. The other hovered, waiting for instructions as usual, his stomach doing little flips as the seconds ticked by. Water was fine; there was just the possibility of getting a little wet. Air was even better; nothing was there to harm anyone – with both these things he only had to worry about catching Akashi if he lost touch with reality.

Fire, on the other hand, was definitely something you didn’t mess with. It could destroy anything in its path and wasn’t so easily stopped. He could only hope that Akashi knew what he was doing.

“A few words before we start,” Akashi began, grabbing Furihata’s attention. “First of all, just like with the air and water spells, any flicker you may see in the fire or any shape it may take is an illusion, and you should not be afraid. However, it is still fire, so you must be very careful. You’ll be the one holding it. We’ll be standing by the pond, but be very careful not to drop it.”

Furihata nodded quickly and forced a wave of calm to wash over him, stilling what little trembling remained in his fingers.

He needed to be level-headed for this.

Akashi bent down by the tree and took out two pale sticks of wood. They looked as if they’d been prepared beforehand; the bark was stripped off and they were unnaturally straight. “Come.”

They stopped by the pond. The sorcerer looked down at the two sticks, then back at Furihata. “I will light one of these, and then give it to you. If I collapse, make sure to throw it into the water before helping me. I don’t want a face full of fire, but I trust you.”

Those last words just made Furihata even more determined to do well, and he stood up straighter. “Got it.”

“Alright. We’re starting.”

He watched intently as Akashi struck the sticks together only once before one came alight. The latter let the other one fall to the ground while Furihata blinked in surprise at how fast the wood had lit. Upon seeing Furihata’s expression, Akashi added “I influenced it, otherwise it would’ve taken forever. Here.”

Furihata gingerly took the flickering torch from Akashi and held it carefully. The flame was rather small, and not burning the wood very fast. He was fine for now.

The other took his arm and guided it up higher until the flame was just about level with their faces. Akashi’s eyes were closed and he appeared to be breathing deeply, before his eyelids lifted in one smooth motion. 

For a moment, nothing really happened. Then Akashi’s eye began to glow.

It was going just like how the other spells went. Furihata breathed a sigh of relief and focused on holding the burning branch.

The flames suddenly reared up and he yelped, almost dropping the branch, but then kept a firm grip on it after remembering Akashi’s words from earlier. This was probably one of the illusions he’d mentioned. It made it a little harder for him to tell the actual size of the flame, but the tall column of fire he could see wasn’t heating his face or stinging his eyes. It was alright.

Figures began to dance in the flames. Once again, he couldn’t make out what they were, but they were different to the flickers he saw in the water or the flashes in the air. They were just slightly more intelligible, sometimes even forming the vague shape of something before dispersing into other fragmented images. He watched in fascination, studying their patterns and movements, almost forgetting Akashi was there.

However, when he did remember the other, and looked back at him, he was in for a shock.

At first glance he seemed fine. He was shaking a little, sure, but that was just normal when they were doing spells. Furihata wouldn’t have paid it any thought if he hadn’t seen Akashi’s face.

His eyes were wide – not in the resolute way they normally were when he saw the future, but in alarm, possibly even terror. Furihata’s blood ran cold. Those emotions seemed so unfitting on that face – surely he must’ve made a mistake? Yet, he couldn’t think of any other way to describe the emotion shining in the sorcerer’s mismatched eyes.

Akashi’s eye flashed and a low cry broke from him, tearing through Furihata’s chest and settling in the pit of his stomach. He briefly switched his attention back to the flames and saw them glowing and growing, like fire piled upon fire, like he was staring into the doorway of Hell itself. His own eyes grew wide as a vague humanlike shape formed in the middle of the flames, but quickly tore himself away when he saw Akashi stumble forward and felt a surge of heat on the hand which held the fire. 

Regaining control of his mind and body, he threw the burning stick into the pond as hard as he could. 

There was a loud splash, and the next thing he knew Akashi had fallen forward against his chest. 

He quickly hooked his arms under Akashi’s, ignoring the fact that they were so close; this was serious. “Akashi-san? Akashi-san! Are you okay?”

The other was still trembling slightly and Furihata felt the vibrations in his own arms. “Give me a minute.”

He sounded choked up, weak, as if he were about to cry.

Throwing his shame aside completely, Furihata kneeled and adjusted his position so Akashi was more secure in his arms and just held him while the sorcerer’s head rested against his shoulder. Gradually the tension in his shoulders faded and his breathing grew steady and sure, instead of erratic like it had been earlier. Furihata considered lightly stroking his back at one point to try and calm him down, but then decided that wouldn’t be the best decision. He didn’t even know how comfortable Akashi was with physical contact – as much as he wanted to, doing anything more may be going too far.

Eventually Akashi stirred, sitting up. Furihata allowed his arms to slide off his back and watched him carefully for any more unusual signs.

There was a long silence.

Eventually the sorcerer spoke, looking tired. “I apologise.”

He blinked in surprise. Akashi was apologising to him? For what? “I-it’s okay. Are you alright?”

“Somewhat.” Akashi stood up, stumbled a bit, and then righted himself when Furihata darted forward to help him again. “I’ll be fine. I was too impatient.”

He wasn’t sure what to say after that.

They made their way slowly back around to the house, Furihata keeping pace with a seemingly-weak Akashi and watching him as closely as possible to make sure he didn’t fall. Somehow, he looked a lot smaller than he had been before. His intimidating aura was almost completely gone. He just looked like an ordinary 17 year old boy.

Akashi stumbled again and Furihata instantly offered his arm. “L-let me help.”

The other regarded him with a strange expression before taking his arm in his own.

They reached the house and Akashi slipped away from Furihata, sighing loudly and stretching. Furihata hovered awkwardly, a question on the tip of his tongue, but his mind holding him back from saying it in case it wasn’t appropriate.

It came out anyway. “Akashi-san, what… happened?”

Akashi’s shoulders tensed slightly. He didn’t respond.

Furihata remembered the brief sight he’d seen in the fire and spoke again, despite his better judgement. "Who was…”

“You should go.” Akashi’s tone was back to normal again, although his words seemed too snappy. 

“I…”

Akashi began to walk towards the stairs, pausing when he reached them and turning back towards Furihata. “This session is over. I need the rest of the day to myself.” 

He seemed almost fine, but Furihata was still worried. “…Okay.” He swallowed, wondering how to phrase his concerns.

Eventually, he just settled with “Take care,” before turning and exiting the house, shutting the door behind him.

He couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty that he couldn’t have done more for Akashi, whatever the problem was.

***

Momoi was waiting for him when he got home.

“Furihata-kun! There you are…” Her words trailed off as she took in his appearance. “Are you alright? You look a bit… troubled.”

“Huh? Do I?” He made an effort to look more cheerful. “I’m fine, honest.”

“Mm…” She wasn’t convinced, but didn’t press any further. “Well, have a drink in the kitchen or something. I want to talk to you.”

His heart sank. That didn’t sound good. Had something happened?

Either way, he couldn’t exactly refuse. After taking off his coat he followed her into the kitchen, fetching himself a cup of water from the tap and sitting down at the table, sipping it hesitantly. He was thirsty, he realised – maybe it was the fire. Or maybe too much had happened to him in one day.

Momoi took a drink for herself and sat down opposite him, swallowing a mouthful before setting her cup down and studying him, half curious, half in concern. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and waited for her to begin speaking.

“Were you out for a walk just now?” Her tone was calming and certain, as if she already knew the outcome of this conversation.

He nodded.

“Where?”

“Just around the forest.”

She pursed her lips, and after a pause, spoke again. 

“Were you visiting Akashi?”

Furihata’s chest jolted and he tensed just slightly, involuntarily curling his toes in his shoes. He didn’t answer.

Her voice was earnest. “I won’t make a big deal out of it. Please tell me, Furihata-kun.”

The thick silence rang in his ears.

Something inside him clicked. In that moment, Furihata decided he didn’t have any other choice. He didn’t like lying to her, nor did he think there was any point anymore. She might as well know the truth.

“Yes. I was.” 

He was surprised at the conviction in his own voice and subconsciously cleared his throat. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His sister looked at him, but her eyes were no longer filled with concern, instead they held understanding and relief that he had confirmed what she had been worrying about all this time. They held no disappointment, no anger, just the emotions of someone who had had their worries lifted from them.

Her mouth was curved up into a slight smile, and she looked away. “I thought you might be.”

He blinked. She was taking this much better than he’d expected. 

“Look, Furihata-kun.” The words alone would’ve set him on edge again if not for the kindness that laced her speech. “In the past, I would’ve been worried about this. I would’ve tried to convince you to stay away from him, I would’ve attempted to separate you two for fear of you getting hurt. In fact, I still felt that way until a few days ago.” Momoi looked back at him again, her eyes soft. “But that was wrong. I’m not your mother. Hell, I’m only a year older than you. I’ve got no right to be telling you what to do.” She laughed. “Of course, I’ll tell you to be careful. But whether or not you continue doing this is your decision, not mine. I know it’s been helping you develop in strength, and I wouldn’t want to rob you of that opportunity, or something I know you’re fine with yourself.”

Furihata bit his lip and looked down at the floor in a mixture of happiness and surprise. Of course, today’s meeting had been a little different and he was almost sure she wouldn’t approve of it if he told her the full story, but he didn’t need to. He had no desire to, and she wasn’t asking. He was just relieved that he finally felt free. “Th… thank you…”

She laughed again, quieter this time. “Just be careful, alright?”

He nodded, feeling the tension in his muscles vanish and calm fill his body.

They stood up, but before he left he could still see the concern in her eyes. However, it no longer frightened him. Instead he just smiled. “For someone who says they’re not my mum, you sure do act like it sometimes.”

Momoi’s eyes narrowed and her mouth quirked up as she reached upwards to pinch Furihata’s cheek. “Are you calling me old?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

She just flashed him a grin before stepping past him towards the garden. “I’m going to check on the storage.”

“Alright.”

Furihata watched her go. Despite the relief he felt, he was now faced with more questions Momoi had yet to answer. He had thought about asking them just then, but he’d had enough drama for today.

However, as he went up the stairs to his room, he couldn’t help but wonder why Momoi seemed so wary of Akashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Occasionally there are scenes I get to write which I've been thinking about for a while or pretty much since the story started. This chapter had one of them, so it was nice to finally get it down.
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> (the number of chapters remaining is in single digits ooo moves hands dramatically)


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Furihata slept well that night, waking up without scratchy eyes or heavy limbs in the morning. He stretched and yawned, pulling himself out of the sheets and going over to the window to look outside. It was fairly bright and cold; there was no sun, but at least it wasn’t raining. He felt good today.

It was pretty early for him, about 9:15, though his sister was probably already up. Furihata moved over to his dresser to change.

As he was buttoning up his shirt, he heard hushed whispering in the hallway outside his door and paused to listen.

“Let me go back to sleep…”

“Shh, Dai-chan, you’re going to wake him! Just come with me!”

They bickered quietly for a couple more seconds before their voices moved out of earshot. He heard the muted patter of footsteps going down the stairs – the steps of someone trying to be quiet.

Furihata frowned. Had he forgotten something? Come to think of it, he did feel like something was supposed to be happening today.

He finished getting dressed and cautiously opened his door, peering around the corner. There was no one in sight, so he carefully stepped out of his room and made his way downstairs.

Stopping at the bottom, he glanced around. It was quiet. Too quiet.

The kitchen, maybe? Keeping his footsteps quiet he shuffled over and pushed the door open.

What he’d forgotten made itself known within the next few seconds.

Momoi and Aomine were standing side by side, and Furihata barely had time to register what was happening before they both spoke.

The enthusiasm in Momoi’s voice matched the excitement on her face. “Happy birthday, Furihata-kun!”

“Happy bi…” Aomine had started to say the same thing, but trailed off in a yawn. Momoi elbowed him sharply in the gut and he coughed. “Ow.”

“Don’t yawn! Say it properly!”

“Ugh.” Aomine straightened up and rubbed his side. “Happy birthday.”

What little enthusiasm was there sounded so forced that Furihata couldn’t help but laugh.

How could he have forgotten his own birthday? He must be growing old.

He felt his face stretch into an automatic smile and a happy, fluttery feeling settled in his stomach. Aomine’s lack of enthusiasm didn’t bother him at all; this was normal, and he didn’t get out of bed this early often. “Thanks, guys!”

“Why do you look so surprised?” Momoi raised her eyebrows, still smiling. “You didn’t forget, did you?”

“Haha, well…”

“Really?! It’s good you have us to remind you!”

“I would’ve remembered myself eventually!”

She just laughed and extended her arms towards him, beckoning slightly. He accepted and she pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing him around the middle. One of her arms left him for a moment and he heard a startled grunt as Aomine was dragged forward to join them, awkwardly draping an arm around them both.

The hug wasn’t a long one and they separated after a moment. “Anyway.” Momoi looked excited. “I got up early and made something for you!”

The happiness Furihata felt suddenly twisted into unease. “Uh… when you say made something, do you mean…”

“I cooked it, of course.”

Furihata and Aomine shared a look. The latter cleared his throat – clearly he hadn’t been told about this beforehand. Momoi must’ve known he would’ve tried to stop her. “Maybe save that for later—”

“Nonsense! I’ll get it now.”

She swept out of the kitchen with a bounce in her step.

There was a moment of silence, then Furihata hurriedly turned to Aomine.

“What do I do?!”

“Don’t ask me! Just… say you’ll save it for later or something. Or just tell her it’s shit, she doesn’t yell at you. Usually.”

“I’m not doing that!”

“Then just—”

Furihata heard footsteps and quickly hushed the other. “Shh, she’s coming!”

Momoi burst into the kitchen again with a plate and a big smile on her face. “Ta-daa! Happy eighteenth!”

Silence.

Furihata stared in at the dish, trying to find something to say. He would fake something, say it looked nice or praise her, but he couldn’t really do that so easily when he couldn’t even tell what was on the plate.

As he was racking his brains for something to say, Aomine ended up stating it flatly. “It’s burnt.”

This earned him a smack on the arm. “I know that! But it’s still edible, right?”

“Ow! Does it look edible to you?”

Furihata raised his hands sheepishly. “H-hey, I can still try and eat it…”

Aomine frowned at him. “Don’t force yourself.” Momoi attempted to jab him again, but he twisted out of the way. “Just have some normal breakfast. I’m hungry too.”

Momoi huffed as he went to the counter where the loaf of bread sat. “Like you could’ve done any better.”

“I wouldn’t have burnt it beyond recognition!”

“Yeah, you would’ve just given up halfway through and eaten the half-finished thing. Don’t act so high and mighty!”

Furihata glanced back and forth between the two and laughed quietly. “Guys…”

They glared at each other momentarily before Momoi set the burnt meal down on the counter and sat down with a displeased “hmph.”

Aomine sat down a little later (but not before Momoi had told him in an annoyed tone to give Furihata a slice too) and began to eat. Furihata took a bite, chewing slowly. He’d just woken up, so he wasn’t too hungry just yet.

Momoi’s bad mood cleared up after a couple of minutes. “So, what do you want to do today, Furihata-kun?”

Furihata paused for a moment. There wasn’t much to do in this area, same as when he’d had his birthday last year, but he didn’t have to spend the day sitting around. There was one thing he definitely wanted to do initially – they could do other things later.

“I’d like to go out for a bit at first,” he admitted, finishing his breakfast and trying to ignore Momoi’s knowing look. “We can go into town or something later, if you guys want.”

His sister nodded. “Sounds fine. What do you want to do there?”

“Uh…” His mind blanked. “I’m… not sure…” What even was there to do? People sometimes went out drinking on their birthdays, but he’d barely had alcohol before and didn’t want to risk anything. “Maybe we could decide later? Or just walk around.” That sounded lame. “Or something.”

“We should do something more fun than that; you do that every day. But you’re right, we can decide later.” Momoi smiled. “Why don’t you go out now? If you go earlier we’ll have more time to do other things.”

He nodded quickly and hopped up from the table, stomach flipping slightly in anticipation. “Okay. I’ll go.”

“Careful,” Aomine mumbled, chewing on yet another slice of bread. Momoi narrowed her eyes at him and then waved to Furihata. “Take care, alright?”

Furihata gave her a thumbs-up. “No worries.”

Hurrying out of the kitchen, he yanked on his boots, coat and scarf before hurrying out the door into the still, cold air.

His birthday last year had been uneventful – they’d been more fun when he had first started living with Aomine and Momoi, when they were much younger. Aomine had been energetic and comical, instead of apathetic and fed-up like he was the majority of the time now. He could barely remember anything about his birthdays before he’d joined them. Of all the things at that point in his life, birthdays were the last thing on his mind.

It felt like it was going to rain soon.

He pattered along the route he was all too familiar with – turn right at the split tree, follow the path until you reach the mud – all the while growing more and more fidgety. Akashi had said he needed yesterday off, but what if he needed more time to recover from the fire incident? Furihata wouldn’t want to intrude; he would quickly go home if asked.

But he was still worried about Akashi, and wanted to at least see if he was alright.

He told himself to stop being so worried; it was his birthday, after all. He pushed the nervousness away and tried to walk more confidently, while wondering what to do with his siblings later.

Furihata reached the clearing and was prepared to knock on Akashi’s front door, but to his surprise the sorcerer was already outside. He was perched on the fallen tree in the spot where they normally sat, his head angled slightly up as if he were lost in thought looking at the sky. He was leaning back on his palms, which were placed on the tree either side of him, and he looked rather peaceful. Furihata let himself be relieved; he didn’t seem to still be shaken.

Akashi looked up in surprise as Furihata stepped into his line of vision. He obviously hadn’t been expecting him, but he looked pleasantly surprised, not angry. As Furihata drew closer he seemed to sit up straighter, but then relaxed again and waited for him to cross the distance to the fallen tree.

“Morning,” Furihata greeted with a slight smile which had somehow formed of its own accord upon seeing Akashi. The other gave him a nod. “Good morning. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

Furihata started. “Ah, if you don’t want me here, I can leave,” he said quickly. “I wouldn’t want to… intrude, or anything.”

“It’s fine. You can sit, if you want.”

“Oh.” Furihata didn’t know why he was so caught off guard at his response. “Okay. Sure.”

“You look happy today,” Akashi remarked as the other seated himself on the tree next to him, shifting until he was comfortable. Furihata looked surprised for a moment, before realising what he’d been thinking about on the way here. “Oh! Yeah. It’s my birthday today,” he said with a touch of hesitation – he didn’t want Akashi to think he was fishing for compliments.

But Akashi just blinked in surprise and his mouth opened slightly, as if he were actually interested, before giving him a small but warm smile. “Happy birthday, then.”

Furihata felt a jolt in his chest at Akashi’s expression and forced his face to stay cool. This wasn’t the time.

“Th-thanks!” Damn, he stuttered anyway.

Akashi tilted his head slightly. “Wouldn’t you want to spend your birthday with your family?”

“H-huh?” His words made Furihata’s stomach twist uncertainly before he realised he meant his brother and sister. “Oh. We’re going into town later. I wanted to know how you were doing first.”

He didn’t want to mention the fire incident outright, but fortunately Akashi got what he meant. The latter stiffened slightly, and Furihata almost panicked, wondering if he shouldn’t have asked, however Akashi relaxed after a moment. “I’m fine now. I just needed time to rest.”

Furihata nodded in relief. “That’s good.”

There was a short silence. Furihata racked his brains for something to say. 

Ah, there was something. “When is your birthday?”

Akashi seemed a little caught off guard by the question, but he responded anyway. “December 20th. Soon, but not for a while.”

“Oh, right.” Furihata scratched at the corner of his mouth, unsure of what to do with his hands. He grinned a little. “Haha, maybe I’ll get you something…”

“You don’t have to do that. I didn’t get you anything for today, anyway.”

“But you didn’t know! That’s different.”

Akashi looked like he was going to refuse again, but after a pause he seemed to change his mind. He looked away. “Do it if you want. I don’t mind either way.”

“Alright.” Furihata had no idea what Akashi would even want for his birthday, but there was a long time to decide.

The conversation had trailed off and they both sat there in silence, with Furihata watching Akashi from the corner of his eye. The latter drummed on the bark of the tree with his fingers – Furihata observed them and briefly wondered what it would be like to entwine Akashi’s fingers with his own, but quickly pushed the thought away.

 _You’ll have to tell him eventually,_ a little voice whispered.

He willed it to shut up. He didn’t feel ready to go that far just yet. Plus, the comment about his family had alerted him to something he would also have to tell Akashi at some point – something completely unrelated to his crush.

At this thought, he suddenly realised how comfortable he’d become with Akashi since their first meeting. He no longer stammered and tripped over his words and feet in fear; the only stumbles now were caused by the butterflies in his stomach due to his feelings or just general clumsiness. He looked forward to his sessions with Akashi instead of dreading them or being fearful of them, and his hands had gotten steadier with the bowl of water; he no longer dropped it or allowed water to slosh out due to his trembling fingers. Akashi had listened to him when he had problems, had encouraged him when he was feeling hesitant and had helped him grow more confident outside of the sessions too – without him, it would’ve taken Furihata a lot longer to push himself into doing jobs.

His chest swelled in happiness. He was grateful to Akashi, he really was.

They were silent for a while longer before Akashi turned to him and spoke.

“Kouki.”

“Hm?”

“May I read you?”

Furihata stared at him for a moment with his mouth half-open, before realising what he’d just said and recalling what “reading” him actually meant. “H-huh?”

“Seeing visions of your past and future. Using my eye. I haven’t used it on another person in a while.”

_Past…_

He swallowed and didn’t meet Akashi’s gaze. “Sh-shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s not like the sessions we do – it won’t make my eye stronger, so it won’t be that taxing.”

“I-I see…”

Akashi’s tone grew reassuring. “You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to. I understand.”

“No, I…” Furihata studied Akashi, his heart feeling like it was about to beat out of his chest. Akashi had changed too, he realised; at first he had been demanding, cold, calculating, but now he seemed warmer and more willing to accept Furihata’s opinion or thoughts. The expression on his face was no longer harsh and his eyes didn’t hold that same piercing gaze they had when he’d first asked to read Furihata, instead they held a kind of sincere curiosity, and he seemed less guarded – more comfortable. Furihata watched him for a moment longer, then closed his eyes and sighed.

He trusted Akashi.

Opening his eyes again, he gave a small nod and spoke with newfound conviction in his voice. “Alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

A faint flicker of genuine happiness showed on Akashi’s face for a split second, but it was gone before he could be sure. “I’m glad.”

Furihata fidgeted and almost didn’t notice Akashi shifting closer until their faces were barely a few inches apart. He jumped in surprise and automatically squeezed his eyes shut, before Akashi carefully pressed their foreheads together.

He braced himself to feel something foreign, any tingle or spark in his head, but there was nothing. It literally just felt like pressing his forehead to another person’s. However, judging by the way Akashi’s hands rested on his lower forearms and the way they tightened slightly in the material, he was the only one unaffected.

Peeking, he saw to his surprise that Akashi’s eyes were closed, even slightly squeezed shut. Hesitantly, he shifted his hand so his thumb made contact with Akashi’s wrist and slowly drew his finger over the other’s skin, attempting to make him relax. Gradually, Akashi’s grip seemed to loosen. It seemed to be working.

Furihata waited until Akashi was finished, distracting himself with the stroking of his wrist and trying not to think about what the sorcerer may be seeing in his head. After what seemed like an eternity Akashi pulled back, his eyes still closed, before slowly opening them to look Furihata in the eye.

The latter bit his lip and looked away, waiting for him to say something.

“I… see.”

_That’s it?_

Akashi was looking at him curiously and with some unreadable emotion dancing in his gaze. “I’ll need time to piece together the visions, and I’m guessing you don’t really want to talk about it right now. Not on your birthday.”

“Y-yeah.” Furihata said quietly, clearing his throat. “You’re right.”

“That’s fine.”

A nod, and then silence.

Akashi was the one to break it. “Aside from that, I have determined there is only one session left to complete the set of spells. We shouldn’t do it too soon because of yesterday’s events, also there is something I’d like to do on my own before then, but I’d rather we do it as soon as possible, ideally two days from now.”

Furihata nodded, focusing his mind on what Akashi was saying instead of what they’d just done. He decided not to question what Akashi wanted to do in the time between their meetings. “So I should come on the 10th?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

He nodded again and stood up, realising his legs were shaking just slightly. “Alright. I’ll see you then, I guess.”

Akashi nodded and stood up, stretching and then relaxing. “Goodbye.”

Furihata turned to leave but Akashi called out to him. “Oh, and Kouki?”

“Hm?” He turned around.

“Thank you. I mean it.”

He stared at him, blinking while wondering what he meant, before stammering out a reply. “Y-you’re… welcome?”

Akashi gave him a parting nod. “See you soon.”

Furihata said goodbye again, albeit hesitantly, before turning and hurrying out of the clearing without looking back.

If he had looked back, he may have seen Akashi look down at the wrist he’d been running his thumb over during the reading, touching his hand to it briefly before turning around and going back towards his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so fun to write. I've been planning this scene since I first started outlining the story, laughs.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter Twenty

It was a dark morning.

It took Furihata a minute to register that he was awake, but when he did he took in the darkness of his room and the windows and frowned. Usually it was light when he woke up, not half-dark to the point where it looked like he’d just gone to sleep. Plus, he still felt tired. He hadn’t slept enough that night.

Reaching to his right and fumbling around on his bedside table, he checked the time. It was just before 7:00am, which surprised him even more. Why was he up at this time? Had something woken him?

His question was answered almost immediately by voices and some thumping downstairs.

Listening, he could make out two voices – Momoi’s and another one he couldn’t identify. He couldn’t hear any specific words, but their voices sounded hushed and there was a touch of confusion to Momoi’s, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation.

It was very early, but Furihata wanted to go and see what was going on. He needed to be dressed for that, so he put on some clothes and stepped out onto the landing, walking along until he got to the top of the stairs and was able to see what was happening at the door.

He stared, tired and now confused. “What…”

Momoi and the man she was talking to turned around. Aomine didn’t seem to be there; he slept more deeply than Furihata and probably hadn’t been woken up by the noise. The two stared at him for a moment, the conversation halted, before Momoi’s quizzical expression turned into one of worry. In contrast, the man’s features showed relief. Furihata stiffened instinctively.

Momoi hurried to the bottom of the stairs. “Furihata-kun! Sorry, did we wake you?”

He tried to supress a yawn. “Kinda…”

“Sorry about that.” She narrowed her eyes at the man, who looked a little sheepish, before turning back to her brother. “This man wanted me to wake you up. I think he wants to speak with you.”

Furihata studied him briefly. He was rather normal-looking, with a severe squint and short, dark brown hair. He didn’t seem much older than the two of them and was definitely shorter than Aomine, not much taller than Furihata himself, and appeared pretty harmless overall.

However, his clothes were part of what made Furihata tense. He wore a dark brown cape with a hood, which joined around the collar and draped over his shoulders, stopping somewhere around his calves. His trousers were lighter brown and well-sewn, obviously cared for, and his shirt was no different. It looked too coordinated to be casual – like some kind of uniform, and there seemed to be a kind of badge sewn to his shirt which Furihata couldn’t make out from where he was.

The man gave him a smile. “Furihata Kouki, yes?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Do you know why I’m here?”

A few answers to that question swam in his mind, some of which he considered more possible than others, but he pushed them away and shook his head.

“Alright.” The man glanced at Momoi, looking a little nervous. “I haven’t told your… sister? Is that right? So I’ll just tell you both now.”

Furihata and Momoi waited. The man cleared his throat. “Furihata Kouki, I need you to come with me.”

He froze. “What?”

Momoi sounded outraged. _“What?”_

The man raised his hands. “I know this is sudden, but allow me to explain.”

He paused, as if thinking about how to articulate what he was going to say, before speaking.

“I am one of the Queen’s royal messengers. My name is Tsuchida Satoshi.” He bowed his head slightly, then continued, pointing to the badge on his shirt. “This here is the emblem of Seirida.”

From Momoi’s sharp intake of breath, he hadn’t told her this before Furihata had arrived on the scene. Legs unsteady, hoping this would turn out to be a bad dream because he had a really bad feeling about the situation, Furihata walked down the stairs so he could get a better look at the symbol. Sure enough, there it was – the three simple stripes of red, white and black. He nodded, trying to hide his agitation and waited for the man to carry on speaking.

Sensing the growing tension in the room, Tsuchida glanced around and cleared his throat quietly before continuing.

“Queen Aida has requested your presence.”

Woah, hold on. What.

“Woah, hold on. _What?”_ Momoi exclaimed, outrage etched on her face. “You’re telling me to send my youngest brother away with you, and the next moment you’re casually telling me it’s because the Queen wants to see him? This is a bit much! What would she even want with him? He’s just a normal boy!”

Tsuchida was clearly intimidated and stepped back a little. “I’m afraid that’s confidential…”

Furihata barely heard her. He remembered the reading from the day before yesterday and hugged his arms around himself, feeling his discomfort slowly intensify.

Momoi frowned at the man and opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could speak the sound of a door being loudly shut made the three start in surprise. The sound of heavy footsteps sounded from the floor above, and Aomine appeared at the top of the stairs.

He looked extremely displeased and very tired. “What the hell is going on?”

Looking even tenser than before at the sight of another angry person, Tsuchida introduced himself once more and explained the circumstances. Aomine looked as if he had trouble processing the information in his weary state, but once it had fully sunk in his eyes narrowed and he began to trudge down the stairs, slowly advancing towards the man. He was a lot bigger than the other. Tsuchida did his best to stand his ground.

“You wanna take him to the palace, huh?”

“That’s correct.”

“You got any proof apart from a scrap of fabric?” Aomine clearly wasn’t in the best of moods. Furihata watched from the side, his stomach twisting and turning, his eyes glancing back and forth between the two.

Tsuchida hesitated. “Well, there is a carriage outside…”

He stood to the side and gestured to the path. Sure enough, a wooden carriage was parked at the bottom of the path, two white horses standing silently at the front and occasionally pawing at the earth. The three siblings stared for a moment before Momoi spoke up, less angry than she had been before.

“Is there no question about it? The palace is hours away. How long will this take?”

“It’ll be a long journey, but he shouldn’t be at the palace for more than a day. My apologies for interrupting you like this. It’s the Queen’s orders.”

The three of them exchanged glances. As much as Furihata wanted to run away and hide, refusing an order from royalty would likely have bad consequences.

Momoi examined him, worry and reluctance mingling in her gaze. “Furihata-kun, are you okay with going?”

_Not really. Actually scratch that, not at all._

He sighed and tried to look less gloomy than he felt. “Do I have a choice?”

“I suppose not…”

Silence.

Tsuchida was the one to break it. “So…”

Momoi sighed. “I still don’t know what you want with him, but as long as you promise you’ll bring him back in one piece, I suppose I’ll allow it.”

She glanced across at Aomine, who looked as if he wanted to argue further, but then met eyes with his sister and sighed, grunting in agreement. He didn’t look too happy, but then again none of them did.

Furihata swallowed. “Alright. I’ll… I’ll get ready.”

Getting ready only involved putting on his shoes, coat and scarf and taking some bread with him upon Momoi’s suggestion, since he hadn’t had breakfast yet. Before he left, Momoi threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight. It reminded him of his birthday two days ago, but this felt less joyful. Desperate, even. He hugged her back. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine.”

_Will I be fine?_

“I know you will.” Momoi stepped back and narrowed her eyes at Tsuchida in the doorway. Venom laced her words. “And if you do anything to him, I can assure you that neither you nor none of the people involved will be sleeping peacefully for any of the nights that follow.”

Furihata coughed quietly. “Momoi-san, don’t threaten royalty…”

“Ah, I can assure you that none of that will happen. This meeting will be purely talk.” Tsuchida nodded to them and beckoned to Furihata, stepping out onto the path. Hesitating and fiddling with the buttons on his coat, Furihata started forward.

Aomine placed his hand on Furihata’s shoulder as he was leaving. “Good luck. Don’t let them intimidate you too much.”

Furihata managed a small smile. “Thanks.”

He said goodbye again to them both before heading out the door, following Tsuchida down the pathway.

The carriage, to his surprise, wasn’t empty. There were two other people in there, probably not older than 20, wearing dark, reddish-brown uniforms with several pockets and the same embroidered Seirida emblem on their breasts. The most notable thing about them was probably the thin silver armour on their bodies, although it looked like they were wearing less of it than was common for soldiers to wear (if that was even what they were). The clothes looked rather practical, unlike Tsuchida’s cape, and as he was sat down on the side opposite them he noticed both of them carried swords. Furihata wasn’t sure whether to feel safe or nervous at this fact.

Tsuchida didn’t join them – he was probably steering the horses. Within a few minutes, Furihata heard the crack of a whip and the carriage began to move.

He bit into the bread he’d taken with him. Food was the last thing on his mind right now, but otherwise he was just sitting there holding a piece of bread and that looked strange.

It was a while before one of the guys in the carriage struck up a conversation.

“Hey, you’re Furihata Kouki, right?” The one on the right, the taller one, spoke first. Furihata started in surprise having been jolted out of his thoughts, then nodded quickly. “Yeah.”

The man smiled, a friendly look on his face. “I’m Fukuda Hiroshi! I’m a new member of the army. It’s nice to meet you.”

Something about the carefreeness of the other’s tone made Furihata relax, and he smiled back. “Same to you.”

“I’m Kawahara Kouichi,” the other guy to the left of Fukuda added. He was smaller, and his hair was cut right back to his scalp. “I joined at the same time as Fukuda. This is our first proper assignment, actually. We have to guard you guys in case anything happens. Like people attacking the carriage, or something. Of course, that won’t actually happen, but just in case.” He coughed at Furihata’s wary look. “Y’know.”

They both seemed friendly enough. Furihata almost felt bad that he couldn’t think of anything to say. Kawahara’s words explained why they weren’t wearing as much armour as expected; it was very unlikely for the carriage to be attacked by trained soldiers. He gave a short, quiet laugh. “Hopefully not. I have no fighting skills whatsoever, so…”

“No worries, we do.” Fukuda patted his sword reassuringly.

Furihata studied them for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Do you know what this is for?”

Fukuda looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Like… why am I here? What’s going to happen once we get there?”

“Oh. Right.” Fukuda looked a little sheepish. “Um…”

“We haven’t actually been given any information on it,” Kawahara explained after Fukuda showed no more signs of answering. “It’s supposed to be strictly confidential. Only the people close to the Queen know about it – I don’t even think Tsuchida knows that much.”

Furihata chewed on his bottom lip. “I see…”

“But anyway, you’ll know when you get there.” Fukuda changed the subject, steering the conversation away from the topic of the meeting – he probably noticed it was making Furihata nervous.

As the carriage rode on, he found out that the other two were both eighteen, same as him, although a little bit older. He had been right about them being friendly – soon he was conversing pretty well with them instead of awkwardly stating whatever came to mind. 

Gradually however, the conversation trailed off as the three of them grew more and more weary. It was a long journey from the outskirts to the palace, and the other two had probably been awake for a while. Furihata closed his eyes briefly, and the next thing he knew he was asleep.

The three of them were awakened when the carriage finally stopped. Kawahara and Fukuda sat up quickly and rubbed the sleep from their eyes to make it look like they hadn’t dozed off; they would probably get in trouble if they were found out. Furihata was slower, as if coming out of a trance. For a moment he’d almost forgotten where he was.

Tsuchida opened the carriage doors. “We’re here, everyone.”

The other two exited eagerly and orderly, standing either side of the carriage as Tsuchida helped Furihata out. The latter blinked and squinted upon being exposed to bright light after being in the darkened carriage for so long, but once his eyes had adjusted they widened at the sight before him.

This was the palace.

The building was huge and white, gleaming in the afternoon sun which highlighted the dark silver and red accents patterning the windows and spiralling up the towers, causing them to glisten and shine. They were in a courtyard, so he couldn’t see the view of the entire place, but what he could see was amazing. The windows were polished and glinted in the sunlight, the main flag on the top fluttering in the breeze, the red, black and white stripes of Seirida rippling and dancing with the wind. It was so intricate, so detailed – it was like he was in a dream.

However, he wasn’t, and he was soon snapped out of his daze with the realisation that two more people were approaching. He looked up quickly, standing straight and still as they approached, walking calmly towards him and stopping when they reached the carriage.

They were both taller than him – one was about the same size as Fukuda and had short, spiky black hair, plus round, oval-shaped glasses and a stony look on his face. The other one was tall – very tall, around the same height as Aomine, with a bigger build and plain brown hair. His face was kinder than the other’s, and he was the one to speak first.

“You’re Furihata Kouki, yes?”

He nodded quickly and bowed his head automatically. These two had that aura – the kind of aura which commanded respect.

“I’m Kiyoshi Teppei, Her Majesty’s main advisor. This is Hyuuga Junpei, head marshal of the Seiridan army.” The man in question didn’t speak – he just gave a short nod and grunt of acknowledgement.

Woah, he had been right. Those were really high positions. Furihata managed to stutter out a response. “N-n-nice to meet you!”

How was he even supposed to greet the higher-ups?

Kiyoshi smiled. “Now that’s out of the way, we’re accompanying you to see Queen Aida, so just follow us.”

Holy crap, he was going to meet the queen. If it hadn’t sunk in yet, it did now. He was going to talk to the Queen. He was going to probably have a full conversation with the Queen about issues he hadn’t thought properly about in years.

They turned around and stood side by side in front of him, while Kawahara and Fukuda stood in the same formation behind, and the five of them walked into the doors as they opened.

As they walked down the expertly polished corridor, Hyuuga turned his head back towards him. “Furihata. Do you know why you’re here?”

He jumped at the sudden attention and then looked down. Honestly, he had a suspicion. A pretty large one. But he didn’t want to believe it. “I don’t think so. Maybe. Probably not.”

“Fair enough. We’ll discuss it shortly.”

They split up at another set of doors – much more intricate ones than the set he’d seen at the entrance. Fukuda and Kawahara hung back as they opened, whispering encouragement to Furihata as he was led in.

The three of them entered a huge hall. Several tables lined the floor in rows and rows of empty seats, with a clear path through the middle. Close to the end of the hall the floor was raised up slightly, stairs leading up to a smaller table at the top and a large, impressive throne at the very back, two smaller seats either side of it. Furihata didn’t know what any of this was for, except obviously the throne, but he was too distracted by something else to focus on the scenery for long.

Queen Aida sat at the small table at the back, a white cup of what looked like tea steaming next to her. She was sipping it when they arrived and quickly put it down, folding her hands in her lap and waiting until they had crossed the distance to the bottom of the stairs, where they stopped abruptly. Kiyoshi and Hyuuga bowed their heads, and Furihata quickly did the same.

There was a loud creaking sound behind him as the doors closed. There was no backing out of this now.

“You may rise.” The three of them raised their heads. Furihata stared at her in awe. Despite being queen for barely a month, she spoke with such certainty and calm in her voice.

Her eyes fell on him and he was suddenly aware of how badly he was dressed for this environment. “Furihata Kouki?”

Furihata nodded, briefly wondering how many people were going to question his identity today. “Y-yes.” He swallowed. “Your Majesty.”

He heard an amused chuckle from the table. “Considering your position, I doubt those formalities are needed. The three of you, please be seated.”

His position.

If he had any doubts about what this was going to be about, they were gone now.

Kiyoshi and Hyuuga started forward, leading Furihata up the steps to the table. Furihata was put right opposite Queen Aida, which did a number on his nerves, while the other two sat either side of him.

Riko pushed her tea to the side before speaking. “Furihata-kun, do you know why you’re here?”

He bit his lip, reluctant to answer.

“D-does it have something to do with… what you just said? About my… position?”

She smiled. “You caught that. Yes, it does. I see you haven’t forgotten.”

Furihata shook his head. “No, your Majesty.”

“Aida is fine.”

He re-structured his sentence. “No, Aida-san.”

“That’s better.” Despite her regal air, she also seemed welcoming. “I’m going to ask you a couple of questions before we properly begin. You haven’t forgotten your status, so I see I do not need to ask you about that. However, there is one more thing.”

He looked at her, trying not to fidget, waiting for her question.

“Do you remember the name Hanamiya Makoto?”

A cold chill ran through him, enough to make him visibly shiver.

It had been years. He’d hoped to never hear that name again in his life. Every time it resurfaced in his memories he’d pushed it away, right into the depths of his mind, and to hear it spoken so calmly and freely cut into his memories like a knife.

“From your expression, I assume you do.”

He tried to respond, but all he could manage was another nod.

“It must be hard pulling up these bad memories, but this is important. I apologise.” She sounded sincere, and he understood even though this had already gotten extremely unpleasant and he wished he’d stayed at home. “If you don’t mind, may I ask you what you remember?”

_What I remember…_

Furihata managed to find his voice.

“I remember… living here,” he said quietly. “With my brother and sister. My real ones, not the adoptive ones I live with now.” The words didn’t seem like they were coming from him. This couldn’t be real. He hadn’t spoken about this to anyone for years and years, and yet here he was, digging through the memories he’d tried so hard to block out over the time he’d spent with Aomine and Momoi. “I don’t remember what happened to them. I barely remember what Hanamiya did. Either I was too young, or I pushed it all away.” He swallowed. “I… I remember being sent away. This woman took us in – she had Mo… um, my adoptive brother and sister with her already. That was how we met.” He remembered that day – he had been quiet, scared and silent; he had been told not to speak of what had happened in the palace or that he was the son of royalty. “That’s all.”

Riko had been nodding thoughtfully throughout his little speech, and now that it was over she looked thoughtful. “You have the basics. There are a few major details left out, though. For example, Hanamiya’s involvement.”

He automatically stiffened at the name and forced himself to relax more, enough for him to start speaking again. 

“I-I tried to push the worse memories away. It worked with a lot. I thought they would only weigh me down. I didn’t want to be more afraid of everything than I already was.”

“Understandably. It’s fine, Teppei will fill you in. He knows it more thoroughly than I do.” Riko nodded to the man in question, who returned the gesture and sat up straighter in his chair. Furihata’s attention shifted to him, noticing that his expression had changed from friendly to serious. 

His chest twisted painfully. He definitely didn’t want to be reminded of everything, but there had to be a reason he was here. There had to be a reason he was being forced to recall all this.

Whatever it was, he was about to find out.

Kiyoshi cleared his throat.

“Well, we should probably start from the beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm... not really sure if I proofread this well enough? So if you see something that doesn't fit, please tell me.
> 
> But w o a h. I've mentioned before that there are scenes I've been wanting to write since I first started planning the story, and this is definitely one of them. In fact, from here on out, every chapter will likely have those scenes so I'll just stop mentioning them laughs
> 
> I'm so glad I finally have this part down on paper (the computer, but you know what I mean).
> 
> Thank you for reading and leaving kudos and reviews!


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

Kiyoshi started the conversation slowly and calmly, to Furihata’s relief. He’d hoped they wouldn’t jump right in.

“Do you remember how old you were at the time?”

Furihata tried to recall it. “I… I think I was six?”

“That’s right. You were six, your sister was nine and your brother was fourteen.”

He nodded; that sounded about right. One thing bugged him, however. “Um… If you don’t mind me asking, Kiyoshi-san, how do you know this happened?”

Kiyoshi looked a bit surprised, and then relaxed. “Well, I doubt you would’ve remembered me. I was there too, but we’ll get to that in a bit.”

Furihata watched him curiously.

The other continued speaking. "Anyway, this happened twelve years ago. Seirida is a fairly new country now, but this was even more prominent back then. The army was small, and the king was trusting, and as a result he would accept people who weren’t born Seiridan into the army as long as they had the proper training and were trustworthy.”

“This is how Hanamiya managed to get close to the royalty in the first place. He was sixteen at the time – one of the youngest army members, but his skills and his… deceptively pleasant attitude earned him a place among the ranks. The king didn’t suspect anything, and neither did anyone else. There was no reason to right off the bat, of course; he was just another soldier who happened to be highly skilled, that was all.”

Furihata nodded slowly. If Hanamiya was sixteen then, he must be twenty-eight now. He quickly pushed the thought away; the thought of Hanamiya being alive and around at this very moment made him feel sick.

Riko sipped her tea while Kiyoshi carried on. “However, to put it bluntly, the good-natured Hanamiya was a fraud. He didn’t want to fight for Seirida, and he had no sense of belonging to the country. He had a… strange fascination with the suffering of others. We don’t know why this was the case, or if there even was a reason. Either way, his intentions were far from good.”

_Sounds familiar._

“Hanamiya was smart. Despite his age, he was already skilled at manipulating people’s emotions and ideas. However, I think that toying with the average person had become boring for him. He wanted something new to twist, something that was so used to having everything go their way, and the perfect target for him was the royal family.”

Furihata shuddered and stared down at his hands, which were clenched into fists. He couldn’t tell if it was from fear or anger – probably both.

Kiyoshi shot him a look which seemed to contain sympathy, but he didn’t stop speaking. “He wasn’t able to do much at first. Looking back, he tried causing disarray in the army using subtle words which made people question themselves and others, maybe trying to make it spread to the higher-ups, things like that. He was barely allowed to interact with royalty, you see; none of us were.” At Furihata’s surprised look at the mention of “us”, he quickly explained. “I was in the army at the same time as Hanamiya. We were both new. But anyway.”

He waited, biting his lip. A part of him wondered if he would remember any of this happening, but so far he hadn’t remembered a thing.

“Your older brother was fourteen at the time, and at the age when he was being trained to sword fight. To give him a range of experience with different people, sometimes a younger, less experienced soldier would be picked to train with him, although they were told to go a little easy since otherwise they would overpower the boy completely. Unfortunately, at one point, Hanamiya started being chosen to train with him.”

“The first time this happened, no one thought anything of it. But gradually, too subtly to notice, Hanamiya started being even more rough during training. He had finally found a way to directly influence the royalty. He would wait until the eyes of anyone watching were trained away, then knock or clash swords with the eldest son in a way which bruised him or pulled one of his muscles. However, the son didn’t say anything of it. Either he didn’t know that this wasn’t how sword fights worked, or he was too scared to tell.”

“No one noticed how harsh Hanamiya was being during training, but the eldest son’s state was gradually getting worse and worse. With no idea what was causing his injuries, although he did a good job at hiding them, people blamed them on his occasional unruly nature – which was pretty normal for a boy of his age, so no one really questioned it. However, this soon changed. At one point he had to deliver a short speech to the people of Seirida from one of the towers, but when he started speaking, he collapsed almost immediately. They examined him, found the bruises, and discovered he had a fractured rib he’d been hiding all this time.”

A sharp intake of breath sounded from Furihata’s throat. He could just about remember this. This was around the time when the terror had started – when he’d started having nightmares about the time he’d seen his brother lying in bed and had spotted the marks which littered and stained his torso – the time when he’d begun to realise there was something wrong, despite how young he was.

However, this memory triggered something else.

“But it didn’t go unnoticed by everyone,” Furihata murmured quietly. The memory he’d recalled didn’t scare him this time; it was considerably more pleasant than the others he’d been thinking about until now.

Kiyoshi nodded, seeming pleased he was remembering what had happened. “You’re right. Although Hanamiya was slipping past the king and many of his subordinates, and many of them didn’t suspect him to be the cause of the eldest son’s injuries in the slightest, the queen was an exception. She was suspicious of Hanamiya; she thought that there had to be a tie between how often Hanamiya was training with the son and how injured he was. However, whenever she tried to bring it up with the king, he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t believe her. He dismissed it as an accident, telling her that she was being too paranoid – and, for a little while, she even believed it herself.”

He remembered this. His mother had played a huge part in this whole thing; she was even the reason he was safe now.

“The king had to go away the following week to sort out some negotiations with Shuutoka in the east. He had wanted to take his son, but this was impossible right now, so he had to leave him in the queen’s hands. While it was troubling to have the king gone at a time like this, it gave the queen the opportunity to take matters into her own hands.”

Furihata listened intently.

“She confronted Hanamiya.”

A jolt ran through him. Crap, another memory had surfaced, and it wasn’t pleasant at all.

“She managed to catch him while there was no one else around. The halls were very empty due to the king being away; many people were busy with the issues in Shuutoka, so it wasn’t as hard as she had first anticipated.”

Furihata was barely listening. 

He had been there at the confrontation. Neither of them had known it, but he had.

Kiyoshi was speaking, telling him all about the event, but he didn’t need to hear it. He could already remember it – too vividly to his liking.

***

It was late afternoon, and so far, the day had been rather uneventful. However, this was about to change.

The queen confronted Hanamiya once they were alone in a room, questioning him about the eldest son and anything else he may have done which slipped past her nose. Her voice was loud and clear, fearless and direct. Furihata was running down the hallway when he heard it, and he pressed his ear to the keyhole to hear more clearly what was going on.

At first, Hanamiya feigned innocence. He had nothing to do with it, he said. However, when it became clear she wasn’t having any of it, his tone turned taunting. He mocked her, telling her that no one believed queens nowadays – they were basically useless to the monarchy since the kings did everything. He questioned her. Was even any point in being a queen? Did she ever feel like she wasn’t needed?

She answered these questions in the same tone as before, clearly not fazed. Maybe the king wouldn’t listen to her – maybe she would have to do this alone, but she would do it. Hanamiya snorted scornfully, and soon the conversation was over, the queen leaving first. Furihata hid behind a pillar by the door, watching her go. Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken into account the fact that Hanamiya would likely go in the opposite direction, towards his hiding place.

He tried to escape and almost crashed into the man at first, then stumbled backwards and craned his neck to see the other’s face. Hanamiya looked down at the small child by his feet, narrowing his eyes and sighing. “Good grief. You heard everything, didn’t you?”

Furihata tried his best to stand his ground, digging his feet into the floor and placing his hands on his hips.

Hanamiya crouched down to his level.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to intimidate me?”

At his stern tone, Furihata instinctively shook his head, but then realised that was what he was trying to do and nodded firmly. Hanamiya looked darkly amused.

“Your mother isn’t going to do anything, you know. She just thinks she can.”

He shook his head again.

“Oh? You disagree?”

He tried to stare him down, despite being scared by the threatening edge to his voice. “Bad guys always lose. Mother taught me that.”

“Really?” He raised his eyebrows. “And when do they always lose? How did she teach you that?”

“In stories! They always lose in stories.”

“And that’s exactly what this is not.” His mouth curved up into a slight, mocking smile. “This is real life, Kouki. Honestly, you need to be taught that real life isn’t a book. Bad things happen, good people die. And bad people win.”

His eyes were dangerous despite the calm tone he was speaking in. Furihata was suddenly unable to move or speak.

However, the mocking expression on Hanamiya’s face slowly faded. He looked to the side slightly, as if trying to avoid eye-contact, and his voice was quieter. He suddenly looked less intimidating.

“Do you know why I went for your brother first?”

He gave a tiny shake of his head.

“Because he’s first in line for the throne.”

A jolt of realisation shook him and he quickly stumbled back. “D-does that mean you’re trying to become king?”

“King?” Hanamiya smiled and shook his head. “Of course not. Didn’t I tell you this isn’t a story?”

Furihata stared at him as he spoke softly. “Do you want to know the truth?”

He managed to whisper something in reply. “W-why?”

“Your family is planning something. Something bad.”

“W-what?”

Hanamiya looked at him, a tormented look in his eyes. “Seirida is a new country, right? So they’re looked down upon. The king doesn’t like this. He wants to take over other countries – by force. That’s why he’s accepting so many people into the army.” He sounded desperate. “I can’t just let this happen. You must not have been told about it; you’re too young, but your brother is being trained for this. I know I shouldn’t have gone this far, I shouldn’t have injured him like that, but it was a last resort. I didn’t want to hurt people. I just can’t let them go through with this!”

His voice cracked at the end and he hung his head, hiding his face in his hands. Furihata stood there, shocked and not knowing what to do.

Maybe he had gotten something wrong?

Hanamiya’s shoulders shook, as if he were crying. Furihata stared at him, feeling a pang of pity in his chest. Despite what the other had done, he didn’t want to just stand there and watch someone cry, especially when he may have been wrong about the situation all this time. Hesitantly, he reached forward to try and comfort him.

His hand was smacked away.

Hanamiya looked up at him, his eyes glinting, a scornful smirk on his face. “I’m kidding, idiot.”

He hadn’t been crying at all. He had been laughing.

In terror, Furihata hurriedly stepped backwards and slipped, falling on his behind and suddenly feeling a lot more vulnerable than before. He was terrified. The look on Hanamiya’s face was so much more dangerous than any expression the other had worn before, and it made his blood run cold, chilling him to his bones.

Hanamiya stood up, towering above the shivering boy and casting a shadow over the ground where he crouched.

“Do you want to know the real reason? The royal family expect everything to go smoothly. They are in complete control. If something happens to the first successor, your family will panic. When something is outside their control, chaos is created, and they’ll all suffer.” The corner of his mouth lifted and he raised one of his eyebrows in mock pity. “Poor you. You’ll be powerless to stop it from happening. It’ll be so much fun to watch you and your family be crushed.”

Furihata scrambled backwards. “S-stay away!”

“And after your brother is… out of the way, do you know who will be next in line?”

He shook his head back and forth, out of desperation to make the conversation stop rather than an answer.

“Your sister is the second eldest, but she won’t be next because the system doesn’t work that way. That leaves you.”

Furihata trembled on the floor in front of him, hugging his arms around himself and staring up at him with wide eyes.

“You won’t tell anyone about this. I can tell. Nobody will believe you, not even your own mother. And you’re too scared to anyway, just look at you.”

As much as Furihata didn’t want to admit it, he was right. He was too terrified to even think of breathing a word about this to anyone. Even recalling it seemed horrifying to him.

Hanamiya shrugged and turned, walking down the corridor. “Well, I’ll be going now. You’d better go and find your mother or something before someone finds you and asks what happened. You won’t be able to answer truthfully, after all.”

Frozen in place, his eyes staring at nothing as he tried to process what had just happened, Furihata barely registered him walking away.

***

That last line had been a threat, he knew. Even more reason why he hadn’t been able to speak about it.

Furihata was hardly aware of Kiyoshi’s voice in the background as the memory came to an end. He forced it out of his mind and focused on the other’s voice as he finished.

“Furihata, are you okay?”

He waved his hand. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have missed anything. “I-I’m fine. Please carry on.”

Kiyoshi looked concerned, but continued anyway. “Very well.”

“The events after that were the opposite of calm. Negotiations with Shuutoka failed, and there was a battle. Fortunately it didn’t develop into an all-out war, but that didn’t mean nothing happened. Because everyone was preoccupied with the fight, and the nurses were tending to the injured soldiers, there were fewer people to help the eldest son, who had contracted an infection from his injuries. A week after the tension faded, he died.”

Furihata gave a small nod. He remembered now. It had made him even more frightened, and at the funeral all he could think of were Hanamiya’s words to him from that time.

_“Do you know why I went for your brother first? Because he’s first in line for the throne.”_

He had been first in line after the other’s death, and just the thought of what Hanamiya was capable of doing had made him want to run away from the palace and everything in it as fast as he could.

Riko cleared her throat. “Teppei, you’re forgetting something.”

“Hm?” Confusion showed on the other’s face.

“What happened at the battle. I’ll tell him, if you don’t want to.”

Kiyoshi blinked, then seemed to realise what she was talking about. “Oh. It’s not really that important-”

“Of course it is, moron,” Hyuuga growled. Furihata blinked in surprised at his casual language in the presence of the queen – it was probably normal behaviour from the way Riko didn’t even bat an eyelid. “If you don’t want her to tell him, I will.”

Kiyoshi opened his mouth to protest again, but then sighed. “Alright. One of you, go ahead.”

Furihata looked from Riko to Hyuuga and waited.

“You may have-”

“Kiyoshi-”

They both spoke at the same time.

Both of them glared at each other before Riko’s more intense stare won and Hyuuga backed down, letting her take over. If the situation wasn’t as serious as it was, Furihata probably would’ve laughed.

“You may have been wondering why Teppei is an advisor while still being young, and not in the army. He and Hanamiya were both in the fight against Shuutoka, and at some point they happened to be fighting close to each other. Despite being on the same side, Hanamiya constructed a simple but deadly trap while fighting that caused Teppei to badly injure his knee when nobody was looking. It never healed properly, and put him out of action. Hanamiya wasn’t only hurting royalty.”

He stared at her. “But… why would he target someone random like that?”

“Who knows?” Riko sighed. “Maybe he just didn’t like Teppei’s positive attitude.”

Kiyoshi spoke up, sounding uneasy. “Well… It wasn’t completely random. He made it clear that he didn’t like me from the very start. But that’s unrelated – we should continue with the main story.”

Everyone settled, and Kiyoshi continued.

“After the death of the eldest son, the king finally decided to look into Hanamiya’s involvement. It wasn’t that hard to gather evidence to convict him, and since he was the king the trial would be easy, but before anything could be done he fell ill. The queen had to take matters into her own hands once more.”

“This wasn’t as simple as she’d hoped. In addition to causing the death of the eldest son, Hanamiya had also started spreading rumours against her, rumours that were often spread about ladies, especially ones in power. Rumours that she was a witch.” Furihata saw his eyes flicker to Riko for a split second before he carried on. “This made it hard for her to get people to trust and listen to her. People who believed the rumours were saying she made the son and the king sick – so she could kill them and take the throne for herself.”

“The biggest threat was the Church. It was divided on the matter, between the people who believed she was a witch, and the people who believed that since a higher power chose the monarchy, she couldn’t be a witch. However, in these situations, the Church has the most power. If the majority started to side with the first option, it would be bad news for the queen.”

Furihata’s toes curled in his boots.

“For a while, the situation seemed hopeless. She was scared that Hanamiya would go for her other children too, but she managed to press on with her attempts.”

He remembered that. Furihata had tried to avoid Hanamiya as much as he could after his brother’s death, so he hadn’t had many encounters with him, but the few times they’d made eye contact the intent in Hanamiya’s eyes was clear. However, he hadn’t seemed to be trying very hard to hurt him; it seemed like just plain intimidation. Looking back on it, Furihata wondered if it was because of his age – maybe physically hurting a child was too much, even for Hanamiya. Or maybe he thought that picking another target now was too risky with the queen watching his every move. To be honest, the first option didn’t seem likely.

“She finally managed to hold a trial and convict him.”

He felt a surge of relief, even though he knew this already.

“Hanamiya was convicted and exiled – but not before he had a chance to speak to her afterwards. He told her he would be back for her other children, and there would be nothing she could do to stop him.” Kiyoshi paused. “This may have been just a threat to keep her on edge for the rest of her life, or it could have been said with real intent. Either way, the queen wasn’t taking any chances.”

“We don’t know how she did it, or how she got everyone to believe it, but she faked the deaths of you and your sister and managed to sneak both of you out of the country, which you seem to remember.” Furihata nodded quickly. “She gave you fake names, too – but in your case only your last name is different. Whether or not this is the same with your sister, I don’t know. I suppose you’ll know where you went, although we do not know where your sister went, nor how to contact her, which is why you’re the only one here now.”

“Mhm.” He looked down at his hands. A common household name like “Furihata” wouldn’t have been suspicious to anyone. He spaced out for a second, and almost unconsciously started speaking.

His voice sounded distant. “I… I remember being sent somewhere near Touland. It was a small, obscure country, which I guess was the point. I wasn’t there for very long. I don’t even remember its name.”

“Sounds like something she would do.” Riko had spoken this time. She sat up straighter in her seat. “Any questions?”

So that was it.

Furihata looked from her to Kiyoshi. “Well, there’s one…” He glanced at Kiyoshi. “I-I know you were there for some of it, but how did you know everything about what happened?”

Kiyoshi smiled. “That’s simple. I spoke to your mother not long ago so I could give you all the details.”

The words hung in the air for a moment before Furihata registered them. His eyes widened. “My mother? Is she here?”

“She is, but she’s resting.” Hyuuga’s gruff voice sounded from Riko’s other side. “If you want to talk to her, you’ll have to do it in the morning. She’s ill.”

_Ill…_

Furihata swallowed and hoped he’d have a chance to talk to her at some point.

Riko took another sip of her tea. “Now, I suppose I should tell you why you were called here in the first place.”

He listened carefully.

“We’ve received word that Hanamiya may be in Seirida again.”

Furihata froze. “W-what?”

That couldn’t be true. “But… but he was sent away. He was exiled. He shouldn’t have been allowed across the border. He can’t be back. He shouldn’t be back!”

He could hear his voice rising with each word and barely registered Riko attempting to calm him down - it took a few seconds before he accepted her help and managed to settle. His shoulders slumped and he took a few deep breaths, hands clenched into fists in his lap.

He hoped this was a mistake.

After making sure he was okay and listening, Riko carried on.

“But there’s another thing. We wouldn’t have called you over here if Hanamiya being back was the only reason – we could’ve dealt with that ourselves. There’s something else which you’re directly involved in.”

He watched her warily. “What’s that?”

“Kiyoshi told you about the situation which prevented the queen from convicting Hanamiya straight away, and how there were rumours spreading about her being a witch? Well, that’s happening again. And, unfortunately, I’m the target.” She said this bitterly, her regal tone being replaced with contempt for a second. “We’re doing our best, but with these rumours, they’ll only get worse. If they reach the outskirts and the borders, they may even reach other countries. And in these cases, the monarch affected has no choice but to step down. It’s happened before.”

Furihata’s eyes slowly widened as he realised where this conversation was going.

“From what I understand, you’ve come of age. And you’re the only known eligible heir.”

No. He didn’t want this.

His fear must’ve shown on his face, because her face and voice turned sympathetic. “I know it’s not ideal for any of us, but if I have to step down, you will have to become the king of Seirida.”

This didn’t seem real. 

He shook his head, taking a deep breath, his heart beating loud in his chest. “I… I don’t know if I…”

Riko smiled. “It’s alright. We figured you wouldn’t exactly be comfortable with this; you haven’t had any experience with this kind of leadership, so we’re trying our best to keep it from happening. However, you still needed to know it’s a possibility.”

Furihata relaxed slightly and gave a small nod. He just hoped this wouldn’t happen. He couldn’t lead a group of wet potato sacks.

She had been leaning forward slightly while speaking to him and sat up straight again. “Any other questions?”

He avoided her gaze. “N-no, not really…”

“Are you alright?” Kiyoshi sounded curious and concerned at the same time. Furihata blinked in surprise and looked up at him. “Huh?”

“It’s nothing, really. You just seem a little dazed.”

“Oh…” To be honest, it did kind of feel like this whole thing wasn’t real. He’d just had his entire past told to him, cancelling out all the effort he’d taken to shut out the memories over the years. Feeling detached and a little stunned in this situation was to be expected. He wasn’t even sure what to make of it.

He wished it was a bad dream.

Furihata started speaking, quietly, not exactly sure what he wanted to say. “I guess I just… need time to take this in. I spent ages shutting it all out.”

There were pauses and breaks in his words, but at least he wasn’t stuttering. “It’s just kind of… a big blow, I guess. Though it hasn’t really settled in yet.” He swallowed. “I didn’t stop being scared for a moment when I was in my new home. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before. I wanted… I wanted to be happy again. I never really got that after the incident.” He was getting weirdly personal here and reminded himself that he was talking to the queen; although she was his family by blood, she still felt like a stranger. “It just made me scared, I guess. And I never really got over it. I’ve only recently started to open up again. Hey, maybe confronting it may help, but… I can’t say for sure just yet.”

He’d avoided eye contact with everyone for the duration of his small speech – when he looked up again, Riko and Kiyoshi were looking at him with plain sympathy in their eyes, and even Hyuuga’s face had softened out of its slight frown.

However, nobody said anything. Furihata quickly changed the subject.

“A-anyway, how did you know he was back?”

The three of them shared a look, before Riko responded. “The details are confidential for now, but let’s just say we received a message which we couldn’t ignore. Plus, the rumours had already been circulating before that, and your mother had noticed and mentioned her worries to us. Since you seemed surprised when I mentioned them, they haven’t spread to the outskirts yet, which is promising since it shows they seem to be moving slowly. We need to stop them and expose Hanamiya as soon as possible, if he is behind this.” She looked at him curiously. “Have you any idea of his whereabouts? Have you seen anything?”

Furihata thought back, trying to recall something, anything, but he couldn’t. He shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t know.”

“That’s fine. We’ll sort it out as quickly as we can.”

There was a pause. Riko turned to the other two. “I think that’s all we have to say for now, don’t you think so?”

“Yeah.” Hyuuga answered her, then turned to Furihata. “You won’t be going home today – it’s late and you’ve probably had enough excitement without a midnight trip. We’ll have someone bring you supper, and show you to your room for the night. You’ll leave in the morning after breakfast.”

He nodded. That sounded reasonable enough.

“Come to think of it, we could probably take you to your room now. I’ll do it.” Kiyoshi stood up from the table after Riko nodded to give him permission, and motioned to Furihata to come with him. Furihata looked at the queen expectantly and she gave him the signal too, after which he jumped up and followed Kiyoshi down the stairs. He followed his lead as he bowed his head to Riko, before hurrying to the doors and exiting the large hall.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. His room was plain but well cared for, as expected of a spare room in the palace. Supper was, as called by the maid who brought it, “simple” by royal standards, but to Furihata it was like looking at diamonds after being used to copper all his life. He ate it gratefully, unsurprised but extremely pleased when it tasted as good as it looked.

Overall, it seemed like they were trying to make his stay as smooth and relaxing as possible due to the ordeal earlier.

It was only later, when he was curled up in bed in his borrowed sleepwear, mind slowly growing fuzzy as he began to drift off to sleep, that he realised he’d completely forgotten to meet Akashi for the final spell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said a lot the ages in this story are different, and that some gaps (between their canon age and their age in this fic) are bigger than others? This chapter displays the biggest ones. Hanamiya and Kiyoshi are the same age, and are both 12 years older than they are canonically. Hyuuga and Riko are a little younger. These are the biggest differences as far as I can remember, just throwing that out there.
> 
> I would've posted this chapter earlier but I kept going over it since it's obviously very significant. It was fun to write though, I hope you enjoyed reading it! 
> 
> Also, in the past week or so this fic reached 200 kudos! I'm honestly speechless - when I first started it I didn't expect it to get over 50. Thank you to everyone who leaves kudos - it motivates me to write more, laughs. I may draw something for this fic to celebrate.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Furihata was woken the next day by a maid, telling him to get dressed before they brought him breakfast, and then quickly leaving after he’d muttered a sleepy reply. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and then realised after a moment that he would have to put on his clothes from yesterday. Hopefully they weren’t that dirty. He didn’t want to look like he’d been dragged through a bush backwards, even though he probably did look like that in comparison to most of the people here.

In the midst of his wondering, he absentmindedly looked to the left and blinked in surprise when he saw his clothes freshly cleaned and folded on a chair nearby. His eyes widened. The maid must’ve brought them while he was too sleepy to realise what was happening. He hadn’t asked anyone to and no one had told him they were going to do it; they had washed them of their own accord.

His coat was also hanging on the back of the chair. It hadn’t been washed properly like the other things, but it appeared to have been scrubbed and smoothed down a little.

Pulling himself out of bed, he began to get dressed. The clothes felt a lot softer and nicer than before – he could feel his mood brightening already.

Breakfast was delicious just like dinner and he gulped it down hungrily, having woken up with a noticeable appetite. After finishing, he left the plate and cutlery on the table, making sure to place the knife and fork carefully next to each other in the middle of his plate before picking up his coat and exiting the room, remembering the earlier maid’s instructions.

To his surprise, Hyuuga was waiting for him.

The latter looked up as he exited the room. “Oh. Good, you’re out.”

He nodded. “S-sorry, were you waiting long?”

“No, I only just got here.” Hyuuga had been leaning on the wall and straightened up, albeit reluctantly. “I’m here to tell you your journey arrangements. Tsuchida will come and get you from your room in half an hour, so don’t slack. After that, you’ll be escorted home in the carriage.”

 _Home._ Anticipation began to bloom in Furihata’s chest.

He suddenly remembered Akashi and stiffened in alarm, wondering if the other was alright or if he was angry at him for not turning up. Hyuuga didn’t miss his sudden change of mood and frowned. “Something wrong?”

“N-no, it’s fine!” He waved his hands in dismissal. “Just thinking. It’s fine.”

The other still looked a bit suspicious although he didn’t press any further. “Alright, then.”

He looked ready to leave, but then halted. “Oh, and another thing.” He lowered his voice just slightly, probably so anyone nearby wouldn’t hear. “Starting today, we’re working on finding out Hanamiya’s whereabouts.” His tone was laced with contempt as he mentioned Hanamiya’s name. “We’ll start off in your area, but we’ll leave in a later carriage to avoid suspicion or too much attention, since we don’t want this to blow up. Kiyoshi may stop by your place at some point, so keep a look out for that.”

Furihata listened and nodded, his heart rate speeding up slightly. He wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming. This was really happening. He tried not to think too hard about it.

As Hyuuga turned to leave, Furihata suddenly remembered something. “Ah, wait…”

The other turned around. “What?”

“Um…” Furihata hesitated, glancing around. “Is… is my mother awake? May I see her?”

Hyuuga sighed. “She’s sleeping, but you can see her if you want. Follow me.”

He walked past Furihata who hurried after him, biting at his lip in anticipation.

It didn’t take long to get there. There were two guards in front of the entrance – one fairly tall, the other about Furihata’s size. Recognition showed on their faces as Hyuuga arrived and Furihata hovered nearby as he explained the situation, after which the shorter one gave a confident grin and ushered Furihata inside while the other one nodded silently with a smile.

The doors closed behind him, and he stood there for a few seconds to get his bearings.  
The room was larger than the one he’d stayed in, but not as big as he had expected. It was rather plain, too – he suspected that this wasn’t her regular room, but instead one his mother was staying in while she recovered.

There was a large double bed in the centre, a small figure lying in the middle with the blankets neatly folded up to the base of her neck. A plain brown chair was positioned alongside the bed. He took a few hesitant steps forward before seating himself, and allowed himself to look at his mother’s sleeping face more closely.

She looked old. Her hair was noticeably grey, and the lines in her face clearly showed age and maybe even past stress. However, her face looked relatively calm, and her chest rose and fell slowly and evenly. She looked peaceful. This whole room felt peaceful.

After a little while, Furihata spoke. “Mother…”

She didn’t wake up. He hadn’t been expecting a response, but he carried on anyway.  
“It’s me, Kouki. I don’t know if you can hear me, but…” He looked down at the floor. “Maybe it’s best that you’re asleep right now. I’ve never been good at holding conversations.” He gave a short, soft laugh.

“I… I hope you’re not in any pain right now. You don’t look like you are – fortunately – but I suppose I don’t know for sure.”

His voice trailed off and he looked down at his hands, fiddling with his sleeves. “I’ve been okay, I guess. I’ve been living with my adoptive brother and sister. My sister is really nice, she helps me out and keeps us all in check, pretty much. My brother… well, he’s not very good on the outside, but I know he is at heart. He’s just apathetic, and kind of… um... rude. I guess. Sometimes. Our sister has to drag him around a lot.”

Furihata wondered if there was any point to talking to her, if she could even hear him, but he didn’t stop. The words were flowing – slowly and a tad involuntarily, but they were there and he just wanted to get them out even if no one was listening.

“I’ve been a little on edge ever since they took me in. I remember being dropped off there and introduced to them – they were both very welcoming. Ao… my brother was a lot more cheerful back then, actually. They really helped me, so my life wasn’t that difficult afterwards.” Apart from the fear, he told himself, but that didn’t need to be said.

“We… we’ll stop Hanamiya, okay? I promise.” He didn’t even know how they were going to find him yet, but he had to believe it would happen. “None of us know what he’s planning, but…” He bit his lip. “He’s probably after me, if he really is around. I don’t want to think about it, but I have to, I guess.” He realised he might be worrying his mother if she could hear him and quickly changed his tone. “But we won’t let him get away with it! He’s cruel and clever, but we outnumber him. I’ll admit that I’m scared, but… but I think we all are, and that’s not stopping anybody. So don’t worry. It’ll be okay.” He swallowed. “I’ll be okay.”

Furihata waited. The thick silence hung in the air, broken only by the quiet ticking of a clock in the corner.

She didn’t answer, her chest still moving evenly with each quiet breath as it had been doing when he’d entered the room.

After a little while he decided he’d spent enough time here. Furihata stood up and, after a moment’s hesitation, kissed his mother’s forehead, before leaving the room in an awkward rush.

Exiting, he realised he’d forgotten that the guards and Hyuuga had been waiting outside the door. He felt his face flush slightly with embarrassment and hoped they hadn’t heard what he’d been saying.

The final ten minutes or so ticked by rather quickly. He was lead to the carriage by Tsuchida, where Kiyoshi saw him off, explaining that he would be going in the same direction in a later carriage so as not to draw suspicion, just as Hyuuga had said earlier. The search for Hanamiya was definitely starting today.

Kawahara and Fukuda accompanied him in the carriage again, but there wasn’t much talking this time around. With nothing to do other than stare out the window, Furihata soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, the carriage had come to a standstill. Realisation flooded through his veins and he scrambled to sit up, peering out the carriage window and surveying his surroundings. He felt his heart lift with joy as he saw the familiar house in front of him – the dirt path leading up to it from the main street, the three empty barrels at the front, the tangled bushes which started at the corners and made their way down the wooden walls, occasionally beginning to creep up the sides of the house before faltering. Furihata realised his mouth had stretched into an uncontrollable smile. He was so glad to be home after one day – it’d felt like so much longer.

Tsuchida opened the door a moment later and Furihata quickly hopped out, itching to run straight to the door, but something told him he should wait until Tsuchida gave the word. He said goodbye to Kawahara and Fukuda as the messenger carefully closed the door, before leading him up the path.

Tsuchida knocked on the door and waited. Furihata shuffled from foot to foot in anticipation.

A click and a creak were heard as the door swung open, revealing Momoi in the entrance. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her head was slightly tilted to the side. “Hm?”

After realising the situation, her eyes grew wide and she flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around Furihata’s waist and squeezing. “Furihata-kun! You’re okay!”

He laughed, coughing in the process. “Of course I am— Momoi-san, please, I can’t breathe—”

His sister released him, letting him take a few breaths and placing her hands on his upper arms instead. “I was just worried! I was wondering how you were doing all day, but thank goodness, you’re alright.” She hugged him again, although less hard this time, and he quickly returned the embrace.

He’d forgotten about Tsuchida until the man coughed, causing them to separate and turn their heads toward him. He was smoothing out his cape. “Well, I’ll be going now. Furihata, you’ll be informed of any further developments.”

“Further developments?” Momoi looked from him to Tsuchida and frowned. “What does he mean?”

Oh. Crap. He had to explain everything.

“I’ll… I’ll tell you once we’re inside,” he offered, saying goodbye to Tsuchida and turning towards the house as the man went back to the carriage. He went indoors, following Momoi, who closed the door behind him and hurriedly helped him to remove his coat and scarf.

There was the faint crack of a whip, and they heard the sound of hooves and wheels turning as the carriage drove away.

Once his coat was hanging on the hooks, Furihata glanced about. “Um, where’s Aomine-kun?”

As if on cue, loud footsteps sounded from the kitchen, causing them both to turn their heads before Momoi could answer. Aomine poked his head round the door to the kitchen, his eyes flicking between both of them in surprise, which then faded to something almost like relief. “Oh. You’re back. I didn’t hear.”

His idea of a greeting was rather different to Momoi’s – just a quick ruffle of Furihata’s hair after stepping out of the other room, but it was still more affectionate than he was normally.

After the greetings had been said, Furihata decided there was no point in waiting. He should just come out with it – bite the bullet and tell them about the situation straight away.

“Um… Guys, I need to tell you something important. Could we… could we sit somewhere?”

Momoi nodded, smiling. “Sure.”

They made their way into the kitchen and sat down. There was a plate on the counter – probably Aomine’s, if Furihata knew anything about his siblings. It felt so calming to be back in his house again and Furihata took a moment to take in the surroundings – the wooden walls, the tiled floor, the door with a single glass window and a tea towel hanging over the handle, before taking a breath and beginning to explain once he was comfortable.

“I… I’m guessing you remember when you first met me? When I first arrived at your house?” At the nods that followed, he continued. “Well… I guess this is about what happened before that.”

He tried to tell it a lot more briefly than they had in the palace. He didn’t mention Kiyoshi’s knee, and simplified most of the things that had happened unless they asked him to elaborate – which they did, quite a bit in fact, so it wasn’t quite as short as he’d hoped. Momoi in particular had a lot of questions, asking him incredulously how he’d dealt with it all this time, if Hanamiya had ever physically hurt him besides the mental manipulation (the answer was no, as far as he could remember) and if anyone involved was suffering from the aftermath.

Aomine was less vocal, although he did mention that if he’d heard this story beforehand, he wouldn’t have been for Furihata going at all because the workers and security sounded so shitty. Furihata assured him that everything seemed a lot more organised now, but he still seemed sceptical.

After a while, Furihata finally came to the end of the story.

They were both staring at him – Momoi with wide eyes, Aomine with slightly furrowed brows and a spark in his eyes which made it clear that he was listening more than usual. Furihata waited, shifting his feet and fiddling with a bit of thread on his sleeve, waiting for them to speak.

Surprisingly, Aomine was the first one to say something.

“Man, I dunno what to say to this.” He raised his eyes to the ceiling and let out a breath of air through his nose. “I don’t doubt that it’s true, of course, but it’s a lot of stuff. I’ll need a while to take it in.”

Furihata’s chest twisted. He hoped his brother wouldn’t think of him any differently after this.

“Furihata-kun.” He blinked in surprise, turning to Momoi, who sounded a lot more sure of herself than Aomine had.

“I’ll need to think about this too, but it’s not going to change anything. Heir or not, you’re still our brother, and we’re going to help you through this if you need us. All you need to do is give the word.” Her gaze was strong, but warm. “Understand?”

He nodded, managing a tiny smile. It helped that Momoi was being supportive; if anyone could get Aomine to come around, she could. And from the looks of it, she wouldn’t even need to. The unsure edge to Aomine’s expression was fading, and he gave a nod after she’d finished speaking. Furihata felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest, and slowly let it spread to the rest of his body.

He was so glad he’d ended up with them. He really was.

In the short silence that followed, Furihata started to grow uneasy. There was something he needed to do.

He shifted in his chair. “Um… I guess that’s it, then?”

Momoi nodded. “I have no questions about it just yet. You could go to your room and rest, if you’d like. I need to discuss things with Dai-chan down here, anyway, and you probably want some time to think.”

He nodded and stood up, quicker than he’d intended. “Th-thank you. I’ll see you later today, then.”

She smiled, and Aomine raised a hand as a goodbye. Furihata turned, opening and closing the kitchen door behind him and hurrying out into the hallway.

He wasn’t going upstairs, that was for sure.

After waiting a moment he quietly slipped on his coat and scarf, making sure his siblings weren’t coming out of the kitchen before opening the front door as quietly as he could, slipping outside and closing it with a very slight click. In seconds he was hurrying down the path, with only one thing on his mind.

Akashi.

He needed to see Akashi.

As usual, getting to the clearing wasn’t a hassle. It seemed almost second nature to him now – he felt that even if he went out on a normal walk in the forest, going in no particular direction, he’d somehow end up back here anyway.

Akashi wasn’t in the clearing, so naturally, he hurried to his front door and knocked.  
Upon making contact with his knuckles, the door gave a click, and swung open.

He blinked, fist frozen in mid-air. So the door wasn’t locked, that was one thing. But what worried him was the fact that it hadn’t even been shut properly.

Furihata stepped into the house, telling his pulsing heart to calm down. Everything was fine. Of course. “Akashi-san? Are you here?”

Silence.

He tried again. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t come yesterday. Something… something came up. I can tell you, though – where are you?”

Still no reply. Alarmed, he hurried upstairs to Akashi’s room, hoping to find someone there. However, a quick glance told him there was no one.

He took a deep breath. _It’s okay. He’s probably just… out. Buying things. You just came at a bad time, surely. Nothing has happened._

Desperation and defeat mixing in his chest, he hurried downstairs and out of the door once more, just to check he hadn’t missed anything when he first stepped into the clearing.

Furihata scouted the edge of the area, slowly walking round in a circle, over the fallen tree, close to the side of Akashi’s house, his eyes constantly scanning up to down and left to right – and suddenly, he noticed something.

A splash of red among the grass, close to the pond. A small, hunched figure, curled up into a tight ball, lying on its side with its knees tucked into its chest.

His stomach flipped, and before he knew it he was running over to the pond and falling to his knees beside the body, ignoring the stinging on his legs as they connected with the ground.

Upon closer inspection, Akashi’s hands were buried in his hair, as if he’d been gripping his head from pain or some other disturbance. Carefully, Furihata pulled Akashi’s hands away, exposing his face. He was pale, even paler than usual, and his hair was damp and plastered to the top of his head and the sides of his cheeks. His eyes were closed, and from a distance he almost looked dead, but Furihata could see the slight rise and fall of his chest and feel the warmth in his skin despite the chill which had soaked in from the damp grass.

First things first, he managed to heave him off the wet ground and pull him half into his lap. The sorcerer stirred just slightly, frowning in his unconscious state and murmuring something. Furihata’s eyes widened. “Akashi-san? Akashi-san! Are you alright?”

Akashi’s eyelids lifted, and two heterochromatic eyes stared back at him.

For a moment there was silence. Then, Akashi whispered. “Kouki…”

His golden eye flickered violently and his face contorted in pain before he curled away from Furihata on his side, slipping back onto the grass.

“W-woah, woah.” Furihata tightened his grip on the other and pulled him closer. He didn’t know how to handle this. “I-It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Akashi had gone back clutching his skull, but after a few seconds he seemed to relax, his arms flopping down in front of him. Furihata watched him in concern, not loosening his grip for a moment until Akashi shifted, staring up at him with half-lidded, tired eyes.

After a moment he started moving again, trying to sit up while mumbling words which were impossible to make out. Furihata quickly hushed him. “A-Akashi-san, you shouldn’t try to get up. You’ll collapse.”

He laid down again, but didn’t reply.

“What… what happened?”

Akashi sighed. “I tried doing the final spell myself. I… made a few miscalculations. I should have waited.”

He sounded weak. “It was a lot more intense than I had predicted, and I wasn’t able to hold out. You may remember when I told you about what happens if I fail a spell – I have uncontrollable visions for a little while after. This is the same, except the visions are a lot stronger.” He placed a hand to his head. “And they hurt.”

As Furihata listened, he instinctively tightened his grip on Akashi. A pang of guilt shot through him. If he had been there, this might not have happened. God knows how long Akashi had been out in the cold for; his clothes and hair were damp from lying in the grass (had it been raining in the morning? He didn’t remember) and his skin was clammy and cold.

He was pulled out of his train of thoughts once more by Akashi’s voice. “Where… where were you?”

Furihata swallowed, getting ready to launch into another explanation before realising that Akashi already knew. Of course, the reading. That would make things easier.

“I got called to the palace,” he started, but then stopped when Akashi’s expression changed.

The change was subtle, but a flicker of triumph flashed across Akashi’s face. “I see. So it worked.”

Furihata shifted nervously under his gaze. “What worked?”

Akashi shifted slightly and sat up a little more, strength beginning to return to his limbs. “After reading you, I made some connections. I kept seeing a person in your head – Hanamiya Makoto, if I remember correctly – from your expression I assume I’m right. After analysing everything, including visions I’ve had from other sessions, I realised he’s tied into the future – the future of both of us, not just me or you – and not in a positive way. So, after our last meeting, I sent a message to the palace.”

Furihata stared at him, suddenly recalling Riko’s words.

_“We received a message which we couldn’t ignore.”_

“Wait. The person who gave them the message about Hanamiya was you?”

A nod.

“But…” Furihata’s mind was spinning. “It’s so far away. How did you do it so fast? It takes several hours by carriage, let alone walking!”

Akashi just smirked in response, before his features twisted once more and he buried his face in his hands with a hiss of pain. He was shaking, Furihata realised – likely from the cold. After the vision was over, the latter shifted himself and hooked his arms under Akashi’s armpits, tugging slightly to encourage him. “We should go inside. Can you stand? I’ll help you. If you want.”

Akashi nodded wearily, staggering to his feet and firmly taking Furihata’s arm in his own. His free hand was pressed to his temple, and his face looked pained. Furihata watched him, feeling a pang in his chest at the other’s pitiful state, and then began to help him to the door.

He didn’t seem surprised that the door was open and instead let go of Furihata’s arm once they were inside, stating tiredly: “I’m going to change.”

“Okay. Um… call me if you need anything.”

Akashi disappeared into the room on the right.

Furihata waited, hearing the sound of rustling fabric and the clicking of buttons, before Akashi finished getting dressed and stepped back out into Furihata’s line of sight. He’d made an attempt at drying his hair – it was sticking up in random places, as if he’d started rubbing it with a towel and then decided it didn’t need special attention. Somehow, the dishevelled look would’ve been fitting on him if not for his current state.

He was still shivering, but that didn’t impair his speech. “Another thing about the visions. Although I know Hanamiya is around, I have yet to find out his exact location.”

Furihata nodded, feeling dread pool in his stomach at the realisation that Hanamiya was a lot closer to him than he’d hoped. “No one knows just yet, I guess…”

There was a silence. Akashi’s trembling didn’t cease. Furihata felt a lingering urge to hug him start to form in his chest, to hold him close and stop him quivering like that in some way, shape or form, but he forced the idea away as his face had started to flush.

However, he couldn’t ignore how frail he looked. Hesitantly, praying this wasn’t too out of line, Furihata reached his arms out, looking to the other for approval. After receiving a nod, he stepped forward and carefully pulled Akashi into his arms, hugging him to his chest gently and carefully as if he were made of glass.

He rested his head against Akashi’s shoulder and lightly drummed his fingers on his back, too nervous to run his hand over his spine (although he really wanted to – it would help warm him up faster). Furihata’s pattering was jerky and awkward due to his own tension, but from the way Akashi relaxed a little at his touch he guessed, as his heart rate sped up at the response, that it must be alright.

They stayed like that for a while. Furihata’s heart was beating so loudly he thought it would be impossible for Akashi not to hear it.

This was, after all, the first proper physical contact they’d had.

He felt a little pressure around his waist and froze, before realising Akashi had very subtly tightened his grip. He heart skipped a beat. Had he imagined that? Had he really hugged him tighter?

Furihata let out a shaky breath he’d been holding, sighing quietly. Akashi smelled like his house – like nature and wood, a generally fresh glow. It was a comforting smell, and every time Furihata took a breath the butterflies in his chest fluttered as the scent flooded into his mind.

He resisted the urge to bury his face in Akashi’s shoulder, internally whispering the words he’d been restraining himself from saying for days ever since the realisation.

_I like you._

Damn, he really wanted to confess on the spot, but this wasn’t the time.

Akashi exhaled very quietly next to him and felt the light touch of a breath on his neck – this didn’t help his butterflies in the slightest.

He just settled for resting the side of his face on Akashi’s shoulder, listening to the sound of his rhythmic breathing as the voice in his head kept murmuring.

Furihata weakly willed it to shut up, but soon gave up and just listened to the three words repeating themselves over and over again.

_I like you._

_I like you._

_I like you._

_I like you._

Damnit.

Akashi shifted, startling him out of his thoughts.

“I know.”

Furihata froze.

With a cold pang he realised that his mouth was slightly parted; the ghost of the last confession on the tip of his tongue after the words had left his lips.

Shit. He’d said it out loud.

_Fuck._

He had one thought: to get out of there as soon as possible. He’d really done it this time. He couldn’t go back on his words, either – Akashi would have none of it.

He needed to leave. Right now, before he got utterly rejected.

As he pulled away from Akashi, he found himself being forcibly halted by Akashi’s hand on his wrist. The other’s grip tightened, preventing Furihata from leaving - although his fingers were trembling slightly due to his condition, he was still strong, and some part of Furihata was reluctant to wrench himself out of Akashi’s grasp. Unable to pull himself away, Furihata swiftly brought his arm up to hide his face. He wasn’t even sure what face he was making, but his cheeks were flushed and he could feel something pricking at the backs of his eyes and oh god, please don’t say he was about to cry in front of Akashi, that would just be even more embarrassing. Oh well, the tears would likely spill over once he got rejected, anyway. No question about it.

“Kouki, look at me.”

He shook his head from behind his arm. A slightly exasperated sigh came from Akashi’s direction, before the latter took a couple of steps forward. Akashi gently pulled Furihata’s arm away from his face, and the other squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to look him in the eye.

It was only when he felt something soft and gentle press against his forehead that they flew open again.

He was kissing him.

Akashi Seijuurou was kissing his forehead.

Furihata was frozen in place, more out of shock than anything else, before Akashi pulled away, cupping his face with both hands and gently sweeping his thumb across the bottom lids of his eyes, wiping away any tears which had started to form. Furihata watched him, his mouth hanging open just a little, his wide brown eyes meeting Akashi’s deep red ones. Though they looked tired from his ordeal, they also held warmth. It was the kind of warmth which made Furihata’s chest twist in muddled confusion, but also hope. Akashi’s mouth was curved up very slightly into a smile, and his hands never left Furihata’s face.

He moved forward again and this time Furihata angled his face down towards the floorboards, allowing him easier access as he kissed his forehead once more. Instead of pulling away, Akashi murmured softly against his skin, sending sparks flying through Furihata’s chest.

“It’s okay. I reciprocate.”

A moment passed, before the full realisation of Akashi’s words sank in.

It felt like all of Furihata’s worries, which until now had been knotted into one twisting ball, had simply disintegrated, leaving him with a warm glow of pure happiness which spread through his entire body right to the tips of his fingers. He would’ve hugged Akashi right then and there if the other hadn’t suddenly pulled away, pain distorting his face once again as his golden eye flashed and flickered. Furihata managed to collect himself, steadying Akashi so he didn’t fall over – more securely this time, with no fear that he might be overstepping his boundaries.

They could talk about this later; right now there were more important things at hand. Almost without thinking, he spoke. “Come to our place. It’s warmer there, and we have more blankets.”

Akashi looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Furihata nodded firmly, and almost on a whim, he leaned forward and kissed the top of Akashi’s head. It was quick, but he heard a noise of surprise from the other’s throat and couldn’t help but smile a little.

Akashi sighed grudgingly and straightened up, taking hold of Furihata’s arm once more, this time with both hands. “Alright. I’ll come with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many people were expecting this scene (or something of the sort) earlier...
> 
> But it finally happened! Honestly, it was really fun to write.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Getting home wasn’t actually as difficult as Furihata had expected. Akashi had stumbled a few times and he’d had another vision on the way, but his steps didn’t falter. Furihata supported him as much as he could, making sure they kept to the path. He watched Akashi closely, being ready to stop in case he needed to rest, hoping the journey wasn’t making him weaker.

When they reached the house, Furihata didn’t even get a chance to knock before Momoi threw open the door.

Her eyes were frantic. “Furihata-kun! Where did you go?! I was just about to start looking… for…”

She trailed off when she saw who was standing next to him. A strange expression came into her eyes and she looked back and forth between the two, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

“M-Momoi-san…” Furihata wasn’t sure how to explain. “Um. Akashi-san needs help. Can we get him inside?”

She blinked, her eyes wide and bewildered. “Okay…?”

Furihata led Akashi through the door as his sister stood to the side to let them pass. He didn’t bother removing his coat and Akashi didn’t seem to want to relinquish his, so he started towards the stairs.

He didn’t get very far, for Momoi was in his way and blocking the first step.

“Wait,” she said, conviction returning to her voice. “What’s going on? Why is…” Her eyes flickered to Akashi, who was standing behind Furihata with an unreadable expression. “Why is he here?”

“Ah…” He glanced back at the other and reprimanded himself for not thinking of an excuse on the way there. It wasn’t like he could tell her the truth about what happened – if she found out about Akashi’s abilities, it could be bad. “He, um… he needs to lie down. Blankets, somewhere to rest--”

“Kouki.” Both of them started as Akashi spoke. His voice was still noticeably weak, but it was growing stronger. “It’s alright. I can speak for myself.”

He faced Momoi as Furihata shuffled out of the way. “I… apologise for turning up unexpected, and in this state. Something rather private came up, but I can assure you there will be no trouble.”

She looked uncertain. “Well… I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re clearly not in any state to talk about it. We can do that later.” Turning to Furihata, she said, “Furihata-kun, take him upstairs, please.”

He nodded quickly and let Akashi take his arm again, leading him past Momoi and up the stairs. There was something about the way they spoke to each other that confused him. Didn’t they seem kind of… familiar with each other? That wasn’t the kind of conversation you would expect from two strangers. To top it off, Momoi seemed to step back quickly as they moved past, as if she wanted to distance herself from Akashi. For someone who was usually so friendly to others, her actions seemed rather stiff and hostile.

Furihata had questions, but right now, Akashi took priority.

They didn’t have a spare room and he guessed Momoi and Aomine wouldn’t take kindly to theirs being used, so he led Akashi into his own room. The latter sat down on the bed, slight trembling still visible in his limbs.

Fortunately the silence in the room didn’t last long, for Momoi burst in not long after, dragging a thin mattress through the entrance. “Furihata-kun, give me a hand here!”

“R-right!”

He helped her pull it through the door, where they let it fall next to the bed before positioning it right and making sure it was suitable to lie on. Momoi then whisked out of the door again, before returning with a pillow and a bundle of blankets.

“There are two blankets here,” she announced, letting them fall onto the mattress. She turned to Akashi, her voice curt. “We have a few more, so if you need any don’t hesitate to ask.”

She then left the room hurriedly, closing the door behind her.

Akashi shrugged off his coat and slipped off his shoes while Furihata spread both of the blankets over the bed and fluffed up the pillow to the best of his abilities, placing it at the end and making sure everything was suitable before turning to Akashi. “Okay, it’s done.”

The sorcerer stood up from Furihata’s bed and lay down under the blankets without a word, putting a hand to his head and sighing loudly.

Furihata sat down in the spot where Akashi had just left, feeling tension grow in his chest. Now that neither of them were doing anything, it was even more awkward.

After a short period of silence, they both spoke at the same time.

“When did-”

“Why didn’t-”

They broke off at the sound of each other’s voices. Furihata shook his head quickly. “S-sorry! G-go ahead.”

Just like that, the tense atmosphere was gone. Akashi let out an amused huff before finishing his sentence.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

He swallowed. Despite Akashi’s vague question, he knew exactly what he was talking about. “Uh, well… I was just nervous. I guess. I-I didn’t know you…” He made a bunch of gestures with his hands, feeling his face heat up. “L-liked… um… me…”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Akashi didn’t sound flustered at all, which made Furihata all the more self-conscious. “But then again, it was different for me. I knew you liked me, probably even before you did.”

Furihata’s head jerked back in surprise. “W-what?” _How is that even possible?_

Akashi smiled, his eyes playful. “You’re not very good at hiding things. Especially from me.”

He felt a twinge of annoyance. Akashi could be infuriatingly smug sometimes. “W-well, I knew that, but how did you know before I did? Was it that obvious?”

A nod. Furihata sighed, defeat pooling in his chest. “Huh…”

Wait, there was another thing. “Hang on. When did you start liking me?”

Akashi looked thoughtful. “I thought about it after I realised you felt that way. Of course, at the time it seemed ridiculous. For a while, I didn’t think much of you at all.”

That stung a little, but it didn’t surprise him. Besides, Akashi wasn’t finished.

“I definitely came to terms with it before the… fire incident. I toyed with the idea when we played shogi together, so it must’ve been somewhere around then.”

“Ah.” So not too long after his own realisation. He wasn’t sure if it was better that it hadn’t been unrequited for long or worse that he’d held out on confessing for ages, then done it by accident to boot.

Wait a second. “But if you knew that I liked you, and you knew that you liked me, then why didn’t you just tell me?!”

Akashi raised his eyebrows. “Calm down. I didn’t think it was the right time. Besides, I wanted to wait until I was sure you wanted to do something about it, and the only way I would know that was if you confessed to me first. I didn’t want to go too quickly.”

“B-but…” Furihata stared at him before slumping and hanging his head in defeat. “Ugh, fine…”

Akashi chuckled a little while Furihata shook his head. “I get it, but… you’re terrible.”

Another laugh. Through his exasperation, Furihata felt his chest tingle with happiness at the sound.

However, when Akashi cleared his throat and his eyes lost their playful glint, he knew the joking had finished.

“But anyway. On the way here, when I had that vision, I connected another piece. A very important one.”

Furihata waited, unconsciously holding his breath.

“I know where Hanamiya is.”

His eyes widened, dread and anticipation already twisting in his stomach. “H-huh? Where? Is he nearby?”

Akashi sat up a little. “Unfortunately, yes. But that also means he won’t be hard to find when the time comes.”

As Furihata listened, he said, “He’s residing in a church, the one in the centre of town. He’s posing as some kind of follower or member – a lower ranking one, that’s for sure, but I cannot tell exactly what. I will be able to work it out in a bit.”

“I see…”

They fell into a thoughtful, but comfortable silence.

_Lower ranking member…_

Furihata thought about this, his muscles tense with apprehension. Above the regular citizens lay devout citizens, or devouts, who offered themselves up to the church and took on religious practices as their path in life. From what he could tell, tabs were rather loose on them since they had barely any influence on the church as a whole, so it was possible for suspicious figures to worm their way in. The position above that was that of the lesser aide, people who aided the priests in their duties. However, this position could not be achieved without input from other devouts and people in the church, which meant that it would be harder for Hanamiya to get into. It was also a lot more work, and he doubted Hanamiya was willing to pretend that much just to finish what he started twelve years ago.

Furihata wondered if he’d seen him in the church at all without knowing who he was, and his mouth went dry when he realised how close he might’ve been to him at any given time when they went. When had he even arrived? At the same time as Furihata and his siblings? Later? Earlier? The questions spun in his mind, ones that he wasn’t sure he would ever have answers to.

Come to think of it, where had he been hiding all this time? He couldn’t have been in the church for that long, surely. Because the incident had been kept as hidden as possible by the royalty it wasn’t like anyone knew who he was, so he could’ve gone anywhere without being found out.

He cast his eyes over to Akashi, who was lying on his back with his head on the pillow, staring at the ceiling with tired eyes. Furihata’s stomach lurched as he remembered something from their first couple of meetings. Akashi wouldn’t be in Seirida forever. After the spells, he was going to leave – to Rakai, was it? Rakai was in the east, separated from Seirida by a large stretch of water, but it could be worse. Yosenia, for example, was far, far in the north, and a trip there would likely take weeks.

He opened his mouth, ready to ask Akashi about this, but stopped short when he realised the other was still shivering. “Are you cold? Should I get another blanket?”

Akashi shook his head and looked over at him. “It’s fine, I don’t need a blanket. Come here.”

Furihata stood up and uncertainly edged closer to Akashi’s bed. The latter shifted to the side, pulling the sheets back slightly, and before Furihata could ask what was going on he said “Lie down with me.”

Furihata froze, his voice dying in his throat as his blush spread to his ears, but didn’t protest as he slipped off his outerwear and climbed in amongst the blankets.

Clearly, confessing hadn’t taken away any of the embarrassment he felt from being so close to Akashi. His heart drummed against his chest, so loud that Akashi could probably hear it, and his breathing fluttered quietly and unsteadily as he struggled to stop it from being too obvious. Akashi didn’t seem to be having any of these troubles – he studied Furihata for a moment, his eyes wandering over his face, before smoothly ducking his head down as he curled his body into a slight arch against Furihata’s torso.

The latter stared down at him, before letting out a shaky breath and letting his arm rest on Akashi’s side. After a moment he moved a tiny bit closer, before finally relaxing and allowing his eyes to close. Akashi’s trembling had stopped, and in the silence Furihata could hear his breathing finally evening out in contrast to the unstable flow it had been earlier.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Akashi act this vulnerable in front of him before, and felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of the sorcerer feeling comfortable enough around him to drop his guard. Feeling a sudden surge of affection, he leaned down and pressed his face into Akashi’s hair (he wasn’t sure if it was a kiss or just out of desire for more contact) and then fell back onto the pillow once more.

***

The two were awoken by a loud rapping sound on the door, alongside a gruff and annoyed-sounding voice.

“Oi, dinner’s ready. I’m hungry, so hurry up.”

It took Furihata a moment to register where he was before he suddenly realised Akashi was stirring next to him, blinking the sleep from his eyes. His arm was still thrown over Akashi’s side, and he stared at the other for a few moments before frantically scrambling out of bed.

“W-we’ll be right there!” he called to the source of the voice, obviously Aomine, and then turned back to Akashi. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep…”

Akashi sat up (he didn’t look bad even half-asleep, Furihata quietly noted to himself) and gingerly pressed a hand to his head before withdrawing it, looking relieved. “There’s no need to be sorry. I needed rest and my headache is gone, so all in all it worked out.”

Furihata hurriedly checked the watch on his bedside table, establishing that they hadn’t been asleep for over an hour, while Akashi got up and smoothed himself down. He looked over at the sorcerer and felt his face flush again as he remembered the close contact they’d shared, and then quickly looked away when their eyes met. As Akashi passed him on his way to the door, Furihata noticed a slight smirk on his face and huffed indignantly to himself before hurrying to Akashi’s side, leading the way downstairs.

He saw Momoi raise her eyebrows as they came into view and forced his face to cool down before she realised something was up. This actually wasn’t that hard; the atmosphere was already tense as the two made their way quietly to the table and sat down.

The dinners in their house tended to be odd, since Momoi was the most active but couldn’t cook and Aomine could just about make something yet couldn’t be bothered to half the time. Because of this their food tended to be very simple or just something cold, the latter of which was usually just a few random things thrown together. Furihata could cook, and he sometimes did make supper for the three of them, but evidently today he hadn’t been able to.

Today’s dinner was of the cold variety – the last of the blackberries along with some kind of cheese and some bread. The plates were already laid out – Furihata noticed there was less on Akashi’s plate than the others – and the four started eating right away in silence.

Everyone’s movements seemed leisurely enough, but Furihata could feel the tension in the air.

Before long, Aomine spoke. It was directed at Akashi, and he didn’t exactly sound comfortable. “Satsuki told me everything. How long are you planning on staying?”

Akashi swallowed a mouthful, looking calmly over to the other. “I imagine you’re not too happy with me staying, so I will leave as soon as possible. I would like to go home today-” he cast a warning glance in Furihata’s direction as the latter began to protest “-but as I’m still not sure of my condition, I would be grateful if I could stay the night.”

Momoi and Aomine exchanged a glance. Akashi added, “Of course, this is your house, so I will leave if you don’t think this is acceptable.”

Somehow, his words had an edge to them which made Furihata wonder if they held the meaning they conveyed.

Momoi stiffened before sighing. “You can stay. I don’t mind you being here for now, but we won’t stand for it if disrupt this house.”

“Understood.” Akashi spoke curtly before turning his attention back to his food.

Furihata glanced between them awkwardly, feeling his stomach twist. The way they had spoken definitely didn’t sound like they had just met. He took another mouthful, wondering if he should ask, but then decided he didn’t want to make the atmosphere any heavier than it already was.

They continued to eat in silence, as questions continued to brew in Furihata’s mind.

***

Riko paced up and down the floor of the hall, her boots clicking on the tiles with each step as she listened to one of her army members reporting. She wouldn’t admit it but she was anxious about Kiyoshi and Hyuuga, who had left the day before to commence the search. Tsuchida, now sitting in one of the chairs nearby, had arrived last night and told her that he’d passed by them in the town on the way back to the palace, which quelled her worries a little bit. They’d gotten there safely at least. However, she was still concerned they might run into trouble.

She told herself to stop being so silly. She had a lot of faith in those two, as did everyone else in the palace – of course they would be fine.

The soldier was coming to the end of his report, which hadn’t been too lengthy in the first place. “So yeah, not much going on. No word from Kiyoshi or Hyuuga yet – what are they even doing? I know it’s something to do with the prince – he seems pretty nervous, I saw him when me and Mitobe let him in to see his mother, but I don’t—”

Riko gave him a stern look. “Koganei-kun.”

He blinked in alarm. “Oh, whoops, confidential information. Anyway-”

“I apologise for the intrusion, Your Majesty!”

The three of them looked up in surprise as the doors to the hall were thrown open.  
For a moment all they could do was stare as the elderly former queen shuffled in, supported by two soldiers, one of which had called out the apology. Riko’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight – she wasn’t supposed to be out of bed, let alone walking. After a moment’s hesitation the current queen hurried over to the other so she didn’t have to walk any further.

“Your Majesty?” The former queen had chosen to keep her title after she stepped down for Riko, and whenever Riko said it she felt like a child again, a young princess addressing the queen in formal or public situations. 

She looked tiredly at Riko, her eyes angled down slightly due to their difference in height despite the former being slightly hunched over. “My apologies… were you busy?”

“No, no, not at all! Is anything wrong?”

The elderly woman shook her head. “No, everything’s fine. But I have something important.”

As Riko watched she handed her a roll of paper which had been clutched in her left hand since she’d walked into the room. Riko took it carefully and after sharing a look with the other, unrolled it, quickly skimming over its contents.

After a moment, her eyes widened. “This is…”

A nod from the other. “It’s a write-up of everything Hanamiya Makoto did twelve years ago, including the trial and all the evidence which went into it. I…” Her voice faltered slightly and the two soldiers holding her immediately tensed, in case she collapsed, but she carried on. “I hope it’s not too late to use it.”

Riko looked at her, then at the paper, then back to her. “Did… did you just write this?”

She nodded, a faint smile on her face. “I’m not going to let my only son die. I just wish I could have responded to him when he visited me. I hope this is enough.”

Regaining her composure, Riko nodded firmly. “I understand. I will make sure this is put to use. You have my gratitude.”

As the former queen was helped out of the room, she turned to Tsuchida. “Tsuchida-kun, are you okay to go out again?”

He stood up quickly and nodded. “Of course.”

“Koganei-kun? Can you go with him?”

The soldier nodded enthusiastically. “Yep!”

“Good.” Riko smiled, satisfied. “I want you two to journey to the outskirts – Tsuchida-kun, you know the way. Once you get there, alert Izuki-kun in the tower that you’re there before you do anything else. Then, go find Teppei and Hyuuga-kun and give them the evidence. Understand?”

Tsuchida nodded quickly while Koganei hurried over to his side, excitement sparkling in his eyes.

“Good. Now, go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably stop mentioning scenes which I've been wanting to write for ages laughs but the sleeping scene... it's been in my head for so long help me 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Akashi was the first to wake up the next morning, slowly opening his eyes to the soft light coming in through the window. He had been sleeping on Furihata’s bed – this surprised him, although he dimly remembered lying on it at some point while Furihata was downstairs (the latter had gone to bed later) and he guessed he must’ve fallen asleep on accident. Looking to the side he saw Furihata curled up on the spare mattress, a blanket tossed lazily over his middle as he slept soundly. Akashi watched him for a few more seconds before standing up and making his way over to the change of clothes at the end of the bed.

Furihata had told him he would put out a change of his own clothes for him to wear temporarily – they were almost the same size, after all. Before Akashi got dressed he tossed another blanket over Furihata, noticing that the other had goose bumps on his exposed arms and legs.

He turned back to the pile of clothes, pulling off his shirt and beginning to get dressed.

Furihata was awoken by the sound of clothes rustling and the feeling of something warm being thrown over him, and instinctively cuddled into it before opening his eyes and immediately getting an eyeful of Akashi’s bare back. He instantly closed his eyes again and felt his face turn red out of embarrassment, relieved he hadn’t seen anything more.

His brief stirring had alerted Akashi to the fact that he was awake. The other finished fixing his shirt, still with his back to Furihata. “Good morning, Kouki.”

Furihata shifted and started to sit up, his eyes still half-closed from sleep. “Morning…”

“Why were you on the mattress?” Akashi asked as Furihata stood up and moved over to the drawers for clothes.

Furihata frowned in confusion as he changed shirts. “You were in the bed. I wasn’t gonna kick you out.”

He pulled out a pair of trousers, glad when Akashi angled his head away as he changed. The sorcerer kept talking. “You still didn’t have to sleep there. I imagine it wasn’t as comfortable, anyway.”

Furihata shrugged as he finished changing, starting over to the mattress to straighten out the blankets. “I guess. It wasn’t that bad.” He fixed the pillow and stood up, stretching and yawning, hearing quiet clicks coming from the joints in his back and shoulders.

“You could’ve just spent the night with me.”

His stretching session was cut short as the implications of Akashi’s words made him start and flush a deep scarlet. “I-I-”

Akashi narrowed his eyes at him, giving him a look that was half annoyed, half amused. “That wasn’t what I meant. I meant like we did yesterday.”

 _Moron._ Furihata laughed nervously and looked to the side, avoiding Akashi’s eyes. “Haha… right…”

Akashi didn’t continue the conversation and instead turned around, silently beginning to fix the covers on Furihata’s bed. The latter quickly hurried forward and attempted to take over. “I-It’s okay, I can do it. It’s my room, after all.”

Since Akashi didn’t stop when he suggested it, making the bed turned out to be a joint effort. Furihata stood up and sighed, before attempting to turn towards the door to go and get breakfast.

He was stopped by Akashi’s hand on his arm, and before he knew what was happening the other had planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

A startled yelp escaped his throat, only causing him to blush more than he already was. Akashi swiftly pulled back. “Was that not okay?”

Furihata struggled to find his voice. “N-no, it was fine! It was just… unexpected, I guess.”

“Then could I do it again?”

His heart skipped a beat and he gave a tiny nod of approval. Akashi closed his eyes, this time taking Furihata’s hand in his own, and kissed his cheek again while carefully linking their fingers together. When he pulled away Furihata quickly took the chance and leaned in himself, returning the gesture – slightly clumsily as he misjudged how much he needed to tilt his head and ended up slightly squishing his nose against Akashi’s cheekbone – but it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Akashi ran his thumb over Furihata’s fingers, sending butterflies through the latter’s stomach as he kissed him again.

He felt the kisses drifting closer and closer to the edge of his mouth, and the closer they got the harder the beating in his chest felt. Furihata held his breath as Akashi kissed the skin just above his jaw, then right by the corner of his lips.

Expecting more, he was surprised when he heard Akashi speak, although it was barely more than a murmur. “May I?”

“Go ahead,” he whispered.

Akashi shifted, before gently pressing his lips to Furihata’s.

It was a plain, chaste kiss, but it still sent sparks through Furihata’s body and he felt his knees grow weak. Akashi lifted his free hand and moved it to the back of Furihata’s head, slowly dragging his fingers through the brown strands as he kissed him once more, more confidently but still just as gentle. Furihata tried to breathe quietly, relaxing and just relishing the feeling of Akashi’s fingers running through his hair.

They did this a few more times before Akashi removed his hand from Furihata’s hair and instead carefully took his free hand in his own, resting his forehead against Furihata’s and stroking the sides of his hands, his knuckles and his palm with the tips of his fingers. Furihata’s eyes were still closed – he felt as if he would’ve been able to fall asleep then and there if he hadn’t been standing up.

They could’ve continued like this for longer if a loud rumble (sounding suspiciously near to Furihata’s stomach) hadn’t cut through the air and dispelled the atmosphere. He heard Akashi snicker quietly and Furihata let go of his hand to give him a light whack on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go and get something to eat.”

He pulled Akashi towards the door, not letting go of his hand.

They had a plain breakfast in which Furihata found out that on some days Akashi didn’t even eat food in the mornings because he tended not to be hungry. He was surprised – he’d expected Akashi to be stricter with his health, but clearly he’d made a misjudgement. Unlike Akashi, Furihata always woke up hungry and couldn’t go without.

A note from Momoi on the counter told him that she’d gone out and would be back around noon, meaning they had a couple of hours to themselves. Aomine didn’t count; he wouldn’t be up for a little longer and would just keep to himself anyway.

Sitting at the table, eating breakfast and occasionally talking with relaxed voices, Furihata thought it almost seemed too casual for the situation around them. For now, he could keep his history and Akashi’s situation (though he looked considerably better) out of his mind.

However, this didn’t last long. A knock on the door startled them both and Furihata waited for a moment before hurrying to answer it, almost forgetting he was the only one in the house who could.

When he opened the door he was greeted by Kiyoshi, who gave him a smile. “Hello. May I come in?”

“Oh. Hi.” Furihata blinked in surprise and peered past him, but there was no one else there. It was only Kiyoshi. The latter seemed to realise what he was doing and shook his head. “It’s just me. I didn’t want to draw attention to this place by bringing soldiers.”  
“R-right. Okay. Come in.”

He stood aside to let the other through and shut the door, taking Kiyoshi’s coat and hanging it up. The grass and earth outside had been swept in a light dusting of frost, and Kiyoshi himself looked cold. “Could we sit down somewhere? I need to discuss some things with you.”

Furihata was already tense, and those words didn’t help. He nodded hesitantly and moved towards the kitchen. “Sure, this way.”

He almost forgot about Akashi, but after he’d started opening the door it was too late. Akashi looked up in surprise as Kiyoshi entered the room, and Furihata froze as the two locked eyes. To his confusion a flicker of recognition flashed across Kiyoshi’s face for a split second, but it was gone before he could identify it completely. Furihata hurried to the table and pulled out a chair, letting Kiyoshi sit down while he returned to his previous seat.

Akashi looked a little uncertain. “Should I leave?”

“Wait a second.” Kiyoshi frowned, studying him.

There was a short silence. Furihata held his breath, hoping Akashi’s presence hadn’t somehow made Kiyoshi suspicious.

The latter spoke. “The message. Was it you?”

Akashi didn’t look fazed by the question. “Yes, it was.”

Furihata glanced from one to the other, guessing Akashi must have had contact with Kiyoshi when he sent the message about Hanamiya. Still, that clearly hadn’t made them good friends – Akashi looked like a defensive cat, and even Kiyoshi’s kind face had an edge to it.

“I see.” To Furihata’s surprise, Kiyoshi didn’t question this any further. “I believe I should say thank you.”

Akashi looked a little wary. “You’re welcome, I suppose.”

“Anyway, in that case, you can probably stay. Furihata, do you trust him?”

Furihata nodded, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. “Yes, of course.”

“Then that’s okay.” Kiyoshi’s expression brightened for a moment before turning serious once more.

“This is mostly just an update conversation. Regarding Hanamiya, we have established that he is in this part of the town, but nothing beyond that. We’re working on it.” His eyes rested on Furihata. “Have you heard or seen anything?”

Furihata realised he did know and felt his stomach lurch. Once he told Kiyoshi where he was, the task would begin for real.

He opened his mouth, about to tell him Hanamiya’s whereabouts, when he suddenly realised that Kiyoshi would probably ask how he knew something so specific. Telling people close to royalty about Akashi was a big no-no, especially when it seemed Kiyoshi was already suspicious of him. He bit his lip, tension growing in his stomach.

He considered biting back his words and deciding not to tell, but then glimpsed Akashi nodding slowly at him from his chair. Furihata swallowed, then accepted his approval and turned to Kiyoshi.

“Actually… I know where he is. I think.”

“Oh?” Kiyoshi looked surprised. “Where?”

“He’s… he’s in the church. Posing as… something, I don’t know what. One of the lower ranks.” He glanced at Akashi for guidance, but it was clear from the other’s expression that he still didn’t know. “I don’t know how long he’s been there for, and I’m not one hundred percent certain he’s there-” he ignored Akashi’s mildly offended look “-but I’m pretty sure. And it’s worth a try. If you haven’t looked there already.”

He held his breath, waiting for Kiyoshi to question him.

The questioning didn’t come. Kiyoshi was looking at him with a curious expression, his mouth slightly open as if he wasn’t sure quite what to say.

“We… hadn’t looked there yet, because bringing armed people to a church is considered a violation of the safety the church is supposed to provide. But now it seems we have no choice.” He gave Furihata a nod. “I’ll look into it. Thank you, even if it is just an idea.”

Furihata was a little stunned at Kiyoshi’s immediate acceptance. “No problem…”

He glanced over at Akashi, and tensed when he saw the other didn’t look relaxed just yet. He was still looking warily at Kiyoshi, and when Furihata followed his gaze he saw Kiyoshi had been doing the same thing in return, although he’d just averted his eyes. He glanced between the two, his stomach twisting.

The moment didn’t last long. Kiyoshi turned back to him, looking more relaxed. “Don’t worry – we won’t let anything bad happen if we can help it. We’re aiming to protect you and your family, after all.”

Furihata nodded, dimly wondering if Akashi was included in that equation.

“Ah, one other thing before I leave.” Furihata switched his attention back to the conversation. “Is it okay if I speak to…” He frowned in Akashi’s direction, seemingly stumped.

Akashi interjected. “Akashi Seijuurou.”

“Kiyoshi Teppei.” The other smiled. “Sorry, I feel like we should’ve done that earlier. May I speak to you in private for a few minutes?”

“Here? This isn’t my house.”

Both of them looked at Furihata, who started and shuffled his feet. “Sure? I don’t mind. Should I go?”

Really, he just wanted to get away from this tense atmosphere. Akashi noticed this and didn’t say anything, but Kiyoshi was oblivious. “Leave? It’s your house – we can go just as easily. Don’t worry about it, we’ll-”

“It’s fine!” Furihata interrupted him, then quickly apologised for speaking over someone of his position. “S-sorry. I’ll just wait outside or something.”

“Well, if you’re sure. We won’t be long.”

Furihata nodded and quickly hurried out of the kitchen, before realising it wouldn’t be at all hard to hear the two of them from here. To give them some proper privacy, he pulled on his boots and coat before slipping out of the front door.

It was chilly and the frost crunched under his boots. Furihata took a deep breath and sighed, watching the air puff out in front of him like little clouds. He wondered when the first snow would come – usually it came somewhere close to the end of November. It was the 12th today, so it shouldn’t be too far off.

Eventually standing around became boring and he began to walk to warm himself up. He would come back in a little bit – he just needed to clear his head.

Furihata walked absentmindedly, nudging stones with his boots and watching the clouds in the sky. It was surprisingly clear, although the sun was still covered. It was bright, too. If there was snow the white glare would be even brighter, and he was suddenly glad it hadn’t arrived yet.

He began to notice more people in the streets, although there weren’t many due to the cold and the ones that he could see were mostly in their doorways or huddled against the walls. The stalls had pretty much gone by now, apart from the few who weren’t selling food or were really pushing the ‘Our apples are still ripe!’ claim. There also weren’t many who were willing to sit out in this bitter weather. It was pleasantly quiet, and Furihata enjoyed this, slowly becoming lost in his own thoughts.

Unfortunately, his mind snapped back to attention at the wrong time.

His pace slowed to a stop as he stared in front of him. He’d been taking random paths. This had to be some kind of sick joke.

In front of him, looming over the street and casting a dark shape over the hard, frosty ground, was the church. And he’d walked right into its shadow.

Furihata willed himself to walk past it and managed to make his feet move again, beginning to carry on. If he’d carried on daydreaming he could’ve walked right past it without even knowing he was there. He should go home, actually – it was suddenly very cold and he’d forgotten his scarf, meaning he was now shivering a little. Akashi and Kiyoshi were definitely finished by now – he shouldn’t have wandered off.

He reached the door and couldn’t resist turning his head to look inside, slowing again. Everything looked normal; there were a few people sheltering from the cold weather, with devouts and priests hurrying here and there as they carried out their duties. It looked completely ordinary – there was almost no reason to be afraid.

“You shouldn’t loiter by the entrance, you know.”

Furihata froze, as if an icy claw had seized his limbs.

With difficulty he managed to turn his body slightly to look over his shoulder, his eyes locking on the figure behind him.

He wasn’t much taller than Furihata – a couple of inches, maybe – and was cloaked in black and silver with a red circle embroidered on his chest. He wore a black hood which partially shadowed his face, and his robes were black except for the edges of the sleeves and a slightly open bit at the top, plus the inside of his hood and the strings which held the cloak together. He watched Furihata from under the cloth, his eyes calm, dark pits.

_That voice…_

Furihata’s mouth went dry. He should never have come.

“Are you coming inside?” The figure gestured with a cloaked hand towards the door, where everyone was still behaving normally. Nothing had changed indoors, but outside was a completely different story.

Furihata managed to regain control of his limbs and shook his head, still unable to say a word.

“Well, if you’re sure. Just don’t skulk around like that, or people could get the wrong idea. We’d hate for that to happen.”

Beneath his fear, Furihata felt a twinge of anger. He was still too terrified to move, but maybe in another world he could’ve spat something back at him in retaliation. His words were obviously a threat.

They shared a look, one of recognition and warped understanding, before Hanamiya turned and disappeared round the side of the church.

Furihata was left standing there, strength slowly returning to his limbs. His fingertips felt fuzzy, numb, even, and his brain was a swirling mess of emotions.

He’d been wearing the robes of a lesser aide. The level above devout citizen. Just how had he made it into that position?

At this point, he didn’t even know what to think. He’d just met Hanamiya after twelve years, and it was a lot less dramatic than he’d imagined it would be. His head hurt and his entire body was as still as ice; he was scared and angry, yes, but had it really changed anything? The capture would proceed as normal, and Hanamiya would be caught and either executed or locked up forever. This meeting couldn’t have changed that, could it? And at least they knew for sure he was in the church and that Akashi hadn’t made a mistake. _This is a good thing. Haha. Right. Everything’s going to be fine. Just fine…_

Someone grasped his hand.

Furihata spun around with a muffled noise of alarm, his other arm up instinctively and ready to strike whoever it was who had grabbed him, but then stopped when he realised who it was. Akashi looked a little surprised at the panicked gesture, but his expression faded after a moment. Furihata stood there for a second, before gripping Akashi’s hand tighter for support and letting out a shaky breath he’d been holding.

Akashi secured his grip on Furihata’s trembling fingers. “I thought you’d be here. You shouldn’t have come.”

Furihata frowned, finding his voice. “I didn’t come here on purpose. I just… ended up here.”

“Coming here was unfortunate either way. That was Hanamiya Makoto, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, his stomach twisting.

“I thought so. Listen.” Akashi glanced around, making sure no one was nearby before speaking. “I could tell by looking at him – he’s clever. His eyes are constantly surveying and analysing what he deems important. You only met briefly, but he knows what kind of a person you’ve grown into. He could probably work out a lot just from those few moments. Now he’s definitely going to do something, and soon – sooner than I first anticipated. Maybe Kiyoshi and his group will manage to capture him before that, but it’s not guaranteed.”

Furihata’s mind was reeling. “I-is it really that different? Did this meeting really change that much?”

“I told you the future can be altered. This is an example.” Akashi lowered his voice, suddenly looking wary of his surroundings. “Come on, we should be getting back. Kiyoshi has left – he wishes you well.”

He pulled on Furihata’s hand to encourage him to move, and Furihata regained control of his legs and followed.

“What did Kiyoshi-san want?” he asked as they walked briskly across the frozen ground. “If I’m allowed to know, I mean.”

Akashi sighed. “Nothing life-changing. He knows I’m a sorcerer, but he’s willing to let it go for now. He doesn’t trust me, but I’m helping you and him, so he can’t exactly act against me until all this is over.”

“Until all of this is over? You mean…”

“He may try and do something later. It’s not very likely, but it’s possible.” Akashi’s pace sped up. “We can talk about this more once we get back – I’d rather not discuss it in public.”

Furihata nodded, sharing Akashi’s discomfort. It would be bad if someone overheard them. “S-sure. Okay.”

They hurried on in silence, far enough away from the church for Furihata to relax.

Hidden by the wall of the building, a figure stood. His face was half in shadow due to the large hood covering his head, and he watched as the two figures became smaller and smaller until they turned the corner and disappeared.

Although Hanamiya had only managed to listen to what they were talking about when they were standing nearby, it was enough. He’d gotten what he needed.

Akashi had been right – he did have a brain for analysing, weaving together the most important threads of information and then manipulating the strings to make them bend to his will. And Hanamiya was very, very good at pulling strings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I turned my computer on today and... it didn't shut off after five minutes? What? 
> 
> It appears to be working okay as of now, so I managed to put up the chapter. Hopefully it'll continue working - I lost what I'd done of chapter 25 (which wasn't much, fortunately) but I may or may not be back in business now. We'll see. I'll update you guys if it starts behaving weirdly again. (that hiatus barely needed announcing if it's fixed itself already whoops)
> 
> Thank you for reading - also for your nice messages on tumblr! It makes me really happy to know people like my fic enough to tell me individually. ;v; 
> 
> I should probably delete the author's note now...


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

In the back quarters of the church, inside one of the small stone rooms, Hanamiya sat. He was seated on a wooden chair and a very quiet tapping sound could be heard in the room as he drummed his fingers on the table, the only movement visible from him apart from the calm rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. To a stranger he may have looked almost bored, staring across the room at nothing in particular.

However, while his exterior appeared relaxed, his mind was at work.

He had already figured out the vast majority of what he was going to do. Honestly, the plan wasn’t _that_ complicated, and the first steps of it had already been put into action. By now lying and spreading false information was easy for him; he’d done it so many times already.

And now, he could finally put his backup to use. It was time for phase two.

“Trying to capture me, huh?” Hanamiya smiled slightly to himself before standing up and smoothing out his robes. “I guess I’ll make them pay.”

He straightened up, put on his best face of urgency, and hurried off towards the quarters of the Senior Aide.

***

“It’s time.”

“Huh?” Furihata looked over at Akashi in confusion. “Time for what?”

They had been sitting on Furihata’s bed and talking when Akashi had suddenly paused, pressed a hand to his head, and come out with that as if he’d expected Furihata to understand what he meant. “Time for me to go back. I’m better now.”

Furihata felt a twinge in his chest and frowned, sitting up straighter. “Are you sure? You’re welcome to stay longer if you want…”

“Don’t misunderstand.” As Akashi said this he shook his head, silencing him. “If I were still weak, I would stay. It doesn’t take me long to recover. I would love to spend another night with you—” he chuckled slightly as Furihata made a sound of embarrassed surprise “– but I would like to return today. And it’s getting dark.” He gestured to the windows, which were beginning to dim as the sun went down. 

“Oh, you’re right.” Furihata hadn’t even noticed the time. Saying goodbye to Akashi was something he was a little sad about doing, but it wasn’t like he was leaving forever; they would meet up again tomorrow for sure. “If you’re certain, then... we should probably go now, shouldn’t we?”

Akashi nodded, seeming glad that Furihata hadn’t opposed his decision to leave. “That would be ideal.”

“Alright.” Furihata gave him a smile and stood up. “I’ll go and tell Momoi-san.”

He left the room, leaving the door open for Akashi. As usual, Momoi wasn’t in her room; she was most active in the ground floor of the house. Furihata went to the kitchen first and almost crashed into her as she exited the room at the same time as he tried to enter. “Sorry!”

“Whoops!” She stumbled, regained her balance, then looked up at him. “Sorry about that! Did you need something?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Akashi-san is leaving now, so…”

“Okay.” Her expression was a mixture of relief and unease at the mention of Akashi’s name. He desperately wanted to ask her about him – maybe he could do that after Akashi had left. “I’ll see him off. Furihata-kun, you should go with him just in case.”

He nodded, hearing footsteps behind him as Akashi walked down the stairs to the coat hangers. “Alright.”

After checking with Akashi that this was fine, he pulled on his coat and boots – not forgetting anything this time – and stood up. Akashi was already done, just fixing his scarf. Furihata unconsciously pulled at his own, slightly self-conscious about how worn it looked since it was pretty old. “You ready?”

Akashi nodded and Furihata opened the door. Momoi waved after them. “Take care!”

Her voice had an edge to it which made it sound as if she were wishing them luck on some kind of perilous journey.

The door swung shut behind them and the two trudged off down the path.

It had gotten a tad darker and colder since they had been sitting on the bed, and not too long into the journey Furihata felt the icy air start to take a toll on the warmth of his hands. He shoved them into his pockets, letting out a huff of cloudy air. 

“Are we going to do the final spell at some point soon?” he asked Akashi, who tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment before replying. “At some point. Preferably after Hanamiya is out of the picture.”

That name still gave him chills even after hearing it so much recently. Furihata nodded and pulled his scarf up to warm his cheeks. “Makes sense.”

They talked a little more as they walked before falling into silence about halfway through the trip. Furihata’s hands were really cold now – he clenched them into fists to try and share the scarce heat of his palms with his fingertips and shivered. He didn’t see Akashi glance over at him briefly as he noticed the movement, but he did notice when something brushed his hand, making him look down in surprise. Akashi’s hand was right by his own – he didn’t have time to protest (not that he would’ve wanted to) as the sorcerer entwined their fingers.

While the action made his heart skip it didn’t do much for warmth since his fingers were now outside in the cold again, but this didn’t last long. Gradually he felt the warmth in his hand begin to grow, spreading evenly around his joints in a way that definitely wasn’t natural for this cold weather. He glanced up, saw the concentrated look on Akashi’s face, and gave a knowing smile as he realised what the other was doing. 

Furihata shyly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek in response, tentatively running his thumb over Akashi’s fingers, and Akashi repeated the gesture back to him.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the clearing. Their hands slipped out of each other’s grasp as they reached the door, and Furihata looked over at Akashi with slight concern on his face. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

Akashi nodded confidently. “I’ll be fine. I’m not weak anymore.” 

“I can tell.” Furihata gave him a lopsided smile. He wasn’t lying – Akashi’s eyes looked brighter and more focused, and his gait was pretty much back to normal. “But if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to come to us.”

“Thank you, Kouki.”

His chest fluttered. “It’s fine, don’t worry!”

Furihata hesitated for a minute, wondering if he should leave. He moved his foot, attempting to take a step back, but Akashi saw the gesture and reached out to grasp his hand. “Wait.”

“Hm?” He looked at Akashi expectantly, saw him leaning in and automatically closed his eyes as their lips met.

The kiss was more confident than the one they’d shared in Furihata’s room. Furihata pulled away briefly and then leaned in to kiss him again – this time with his mouth just slightly open. There was no intentional tongue involved, just the slight moving of lips and the feeling of Akashi stroking Furihata’s wrist with his thumb as he took his other hand in his own. 

Akashi stopped kissing him on the mouth and instead moved to his cheek, his nose, his forehead, gently kissing the different parts of Furihata’s face. When he kissed the patch of skin near Furihata’s ear, the latter squirmed and giggled nervously. “A-Akashi-san, that tickles…”

Akashi pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “Call me by my name.”

Furihata’s heart jumped. Akashi still looked rather composed in stark contrast to his own spinning mind, but the way he was looking at him – eyes urging, face set – showed he was serious, maybe even unsure of whether he would accept his request or not.

Taking a breath, Furihata opened his mouth and stuttered out a few syllables. 

“Sei… juu…ro?”

Akashi smiled, interlacing their fingers with both hands as warmth flowed across his features, now clear of any doubt. “Thank you.” 

Furihata blushed, shuffling his feet nervously. He didn’t reply. 

Where were they supposed to go from here? Was he supposed to keep calling him by his first name? He wasn’t sure if he wanted that – he didn’t even call Momoi and Aomine by their first names; he’d called them Momoi-san and Aomine-kun since they were children and it had just sort of stuck. Calling them Satsuki and Daiki would just feel wrong. 

He pondered Akashi’s name briefly. Maybe he could swap the –san out, at least.

They stayed like that for a short while before Furihata realised it was getting hard to see the surroundings. The stars and the rising moon were the only light in the forest, and he would have to get back soon to avoid getting lost.

Akashi seemed to be thinking the same thing and relaxed his hands, letting Furihata step back and look around. It would be completely dark before long.

“I should go.” Furihata looked over at Akashi, a light fuzziness all over his body. “It was nice seeing you, though.”

“I should say the same.” It was hard to see the sorcerer’s face in the darkness, but his expression was soft. “And we’ll see each other again soon.”

Furihata nodded, his chest fluttering again. Akashi opened the door as Furihata turned and began to make his way across the clearing. “Goodnight, Kouki.”

He quickly turned back. “Goodnight, um… Akashi-kun!”

Akashi looked slightly surprised at the change but not unpleasantly so; in fact he looked rather pleased. Turning away to hide his flushed face, Furihata hurried off into the trees, still feeling warm and happy all over despite the cold.

He made sure to treasure these moments, especially now. Experiencing and fondly recalling them helped chase away the creeping fear of the man in the church.

As he walked, Furihata wondered about Akashi’s demeanour – it had certainly changed. The cold, distant Akashi he’d met the first few times was several wide leaps away from the Akashi now – they both shared the slyness, yes, but the Akashi he’d just spoken with was much more caring. The icy glint in his red eyes had gone, being replaced by a warm glow, and he smiled a lot more than he had previously – not smirked, smiled (although the smirks were definitely still there). It was almost as if he were a different person.

A sudden squawk from a nearby bush interrupted him. Furihata let out a surprised cry as a crow flew out, almost crashing into him before righting itself and flying up into the trees, its continuous screeching ringing eerily among the bare branches.

Furihata stood there in slight bewilderment. His limbs were tingling from the scare, no longer warm.

Trying to shake off his mild unease, he wrapped his coat around his now shivering form and hurried home to his brother and sister.

***

The unease didn’t leave.

For the rest of the day he could feel it lingering in the back of his mind. Furihata tried to shake it off – talk to his siblings, read, anything, but nothing worked. When he tried to ask Momoi about Akashi he faltered, realising he wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation with her like this. The nagging feeling was still there, even at night when he was trying to get to sleep in the hope that it would be gone by morning.

He tossed and turned in his sheets, staring into the deep blackness of his room and then squeezing his eyes shut. _Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep! Everything will be okay by tomorrow._

It was probably parting with Akashi, he decided. They hadn’t been together for very long after he’d accidentally confessed. He was probably just a little lonely.

Doubt lingered in his mind. Somehow, he couldn’t help but feel like it was something more pressing than that.

Furihata lay in one position for a while, just listening to the sounds of the forest – the wind, the few birds which were still awake and the sound of rustling leaves.

An unfamiliar crashing sound, far off in the distance. 

His eyes flew open. 

Furihata jumped out of bed and ran to his window, staring out into the forest. Nothing had changed as far as the eye could see and no other sounds followed the one which had just occurred. It was so quiet he almost hadn’t heard it. But something was definitely wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Heart pounding, he stood up, his hands shaking as he pulled on his trousers and shirt which he’d folded neatly at the end of his bed. Opening and closing his bedroom door as quietly as he could, Furihata tiptoed down the stairs to the front door, pulled on his coat, shoes and scarf and slipped outside.

The noise had come from the direction of Akashi’s house.

He ran, as fast as his legs could carry him.

Pure adrenaline kept him going for longer than usual – he had to slow down at some point to catch his breath, his throat throbbing in pain from the freezing air. The cold around him barely registered in his mind – he kept ploughing on, as fast as he could without running. Frost crunched under his boots and he became increasingly aware of the shadows around him – a tree creaked and groaned, making him flinch, an owl hooted and a creature flapped above him, casting shadows over the ground and almost sending him right back the other way.

He tripped over a root as he started running again, stumbling and falling among the dirt and dying leaves. Struggling to get up, his wrist was suddenly caught by some kind of spiked vine and he yelped in alarm, filled with thoughts about the forest trying to trap him in its tendrils and never-ending sea of trees. To his relief the bramble snapped with a brief tug, enabling him to get back on his feet and focus on the more pressing issue. Furihata’s hands stung; they were probably bleeding, but he didn’t stop to check or dust himself off. Ignoring the dirt that clung to his coat and hands and the pain in his foot from tripping, he kept going. He had to.

Furihata almost didn’t notice how close he was until he suddenly stumbled out into an open area. He’d reached the clearing. 

He looked up. Akashi’s door was open. It was the middle of the night and Akashi’s door was open with no sign of any supervision whatsoever.

Legs shaking, he made his way over to the house and placed his hand on the door. It moved strangely, as if it wasn’t working right. He pushed it and let it swing open awkwardly, swaying on damaged hinges. 

His heart in his mouth, Furihata stepped inside.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but what he saw made him freeze in his tracks.

The table in the corner had been knocked over, the few things on it spread over the ground. Taking a shaky step backwards he flinched as his boot crunched on something – as he looked down, he realised the floor was littered with glass from a broken object – he couldn’t tell what it was. Dragging his mind out of its panicked state just enough to move, he rushed to the nearest room and peered in. The state was the same – things were knocked over, blankets were pulled out and some kind of fruit was strewn all over the floor, squashed in places and staining the blankets a dark colour he couldn’t identify. 

Furihata left that room and ran upstairs, praying for something to be different but knowing his wishes were already crushed. Akashi’s room was a mess – the mattress from his bed had been turned over, the drawers pulled out of his dresser and his window hanging open, swinging brokenly on its hinges as the wind battered and tossed it about.

Akashi’s house had been ransacked, and there was no sign of Akashi himself anywhere.

Furihata began to go dizzy. “Aka… no…”

His feet were rooted in place. He didn’t know what to do.

Something creaked, bringing him back to his senses. His stomach lurched as he suddenly realised being in this place was a very, very bad idea, and for once he was grateful as his own survival instincts kicked in and made him rush down the stairs, out the front door and away from this place as fast as he could. 

Who was to say that whatever did this wasn’t still here?

He stopped running after a while, his breath coming in short, laboured gasps. It hurt to breathe. Where had Akashi gone? What had happened here? What should he do? How could this have happened?

A loud crashing sound ahead alerted him.

Something was coming.

Furihata froze, looking from side to side before stumbling off to the left. The sound followed his path almost exactly. His chest felt like it was going to break; he was going to die. This was it. The thing that had raided Akashi’s house was coming for him, too, and no one would ever know about it. He would die here, in this forest, all alone with only his screams and his murderer to keep him company.

As he ran, he slipped on a clump of rotting leaves, twisting and landing on his side with a painful thump. The crashing was almost on top of him now; there was no time to run. Furihata curled up in a ball, and as the source of the crashing approached, let out a panicked scream. “Leave me alone!”

“Furihata?”

That voice was familiar. He blinked out of his terrified daze and looked up. “H-huh?”

Aomine stood in front of him, staring down at him with bewilderment etched on his face. “Stop screaming - it’s just me.”

His face was hard to see in the dark, but Furihata could definitely tell it was him. He let out a shaky breath of relief and began to stand up, but was suddenly struck with urgency as he remembered the panic wasn’t over yet. “A-A-Akashi-kun’s house – someone’s been there, everything’s destroyed, he’s not there—”

Aomine gritted his teeth, no alarm visible on his face. “So that’s what it was. I heard the noise too, but I wasn’t expecting you to leap out of bed and go chasing it. I came to bring you back.”

Through his terror, Furihata managed to feel a little bit reassured. “Th-thank you…” He swallowed and shook. “But what about Akashi-kun? He’s gone!”

There was a pause. Aomine looked away, his expression unreadable.

“There’s nothing you can do right now. We’re going home.” The faint shadows from the trees dappled his face, making it even harder to tell what he was thinking. “It’s not like you can search for anything in the dark.”

Furihata stared at the floor. He didn’t want to wait. Anything could be happening to Akashi right now, and he was powerless to stop it. Completely powerless.

Aomine laid a hand on his back, pushing him gently in the direction of home. “Come on. Let’s get back or Satsuki’s gonna yell at us.”

Furihata nodded and began walking. As scared as he was, he wouldn’t want to make his sister worry.

He felt safer with Aomine there, at least, but his heart was still threatening to beat out of his chest. His mind was numb. As he walked, he stared at the ground, only barely registering where to put his boots.

He was quickly sent upstairs when they got home. Aomine was the one to brief Momoi on the situation.

That night, Furihata didn’t get a wink of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Yeah. I'm sure this is everyone's favourite chapter.
> 
> Good news, my computer is still working fine! No more weird upsets now, hooray.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Hushed muttering and worried voices fluttered throughout the streets surrounding the Church. Many people shied away as a group of soldiers marched up the paths – children hid behind their mothers and fathers while others stared in amazement, knowing that something must be happening if members of the army were out and about. There weren’t very many; it wasn’t like they would meet much resistance, but their numbers were great enough to be noticed. Around ten soldiers marched – Hyuuga at the head, with Kiyoshi slightly behind so he was shielded from potential attacks. He lacked the protection and skill of the army, after all.

As ordered, the soldiers surrounded the church. They held their weapons but didn’t aim; that would be much too aggressive. Hyuuga stood at the door and waited. The people inside were beginning to realise what was happening, standing up and peering at the entrance, some hurrying off to inform the higher ups, others beginning to stir in fright. Sharing a glance with Kiyoshi, Hyuuga raised his voice so the people inside could hear him.

“Don’t panic! We’re not here to cause bloodshed. We just need to speak to one of your number.”

One of the older priests hurried to the door, his suspicious eyes surveying the army and the two at the entrance. His tone was harsh.

“These soldiers don’t match what you’re saying. Surrounding a sacred place with armed men? This is taboo! Has the army gone mad?”

Kiyoshi stepped forward. “I apologise for the disturbance,” he acknowledged, nodding to the man. “We just need to find out if someone is here – and if they are, to talk to them.”

The priest’s suspicion didn’t lessen. “And who may that be?”

“Hanamiya Makoto. Do you know of him?”

There was a pause. Kiyoshi hoped Furihata and Akashi had been right – if they’d made a mistake it wouldn’t do the army’s reputation any favours.

He felt a sense of relief wash over him when the elderly man’s expression turned less angered and more quizzical. “He’s here. What do you want with him?”

“It’s confidential.”

The other eyed him warily and grunted. “Give me a moment.”

His swishing robes disturbed the dust at the entrance as he turned away and hurried out of sight.

Not long later, he returned. “He’s available, but you’ll have to come inside. No, not you,” he snapped at Hyuuga, who looked like he was holding in a thousand retorts at being spoken to in such a tone. Kiyoshi hoped he would keep to this; it wouldn’t do him any good to insult the church’s people. “People with weapons may stay outside, but they aren’t allowed in.” 

Hyuuga let out a forced breath. “Fine. Kiyoshi, go.”

Kiyoshi nodded. “Alright.”

Steeling himself, he followed the priest inside. The man walked briskly and led him to the sides where a few devouts waited, though they scattered as the two drew closer.

One figure remained, however, and looked up as he saw the two approaching.

His face was more defined than Kiyoshi remembered, even under the hood. He’d certainly changed physically, but the eerie calm around him still remained. To a stranger who hadn’t experienced his true personality it would’ve been impossible to sense, but Kiyoshi knew it was there. 

The priest stopped by him. “Hanamiya, someone’s here to see you.”

Hanamiya looked curious, although it was obviously fake. He knew exactly what was going on. “Hm? What’s this about?”

Despite being faced with the man who had disrupted the royal family and ruined his position as a soldier, Kiyoshi felt surprisingly calm. 

“Good morning, Hanamiya Makoto. We apologise to have disturbed you like this.”

Something glinted in Hanamiya’s eyes. “It’s no trouble. Do carry on – what do you want with me?”

His voice still sounded innocent, clear of any ill intent whatsoever. Kiyoshi looked down at him, his gaze unfaltering and serious. “I think you know.”

A tilt of the head. Mock confusion broke out across Hanamiya’s features. “I’m… not sure I do. Please explain? Who are you?”

Kiyoshi sighed internally. He was a good actor – he’d give him that. Not that he’d expected him to just give in and come with them right away. The priest was certainly fooled, glancing between the two and frowning at the advisor. “You’d better get to the point quickly, or else I’m kicking you out.”

Well, there was no point in beating around in the bush. Kiyoshi cleared his throat. “Hanamiya Makoto, we need you to come with us. If you won’t come willingly, we’ll have to resort to other measures. I’m sure no one here wants that kind of chaos in a church.”

The priest’s expression had turned shocked, before descending into anger. “Are you threatening a member of our society? What’s all this?!”

Meanwhile a crowd of people had gathered around the three, whispering to each other and staring at the confrontation with worried eyes. Hanamiya glanced to his sides, surveying the gathering, before speaking. He sounded nervous, unsure. “Why do you need me?”

Kiyoshi felt his composure waver; he’d been hoping they wouldn’t come to this part of the conversation. They definitely didn’t want to tell the public about the incident twelve years ago if they could help it – unless Furihata’s mother and the current queen wished otherwise. He would have to be vague. It wouldn’t help his situation, but he couldn’t do much else. 

“You’ve committed several unforgivable crimes, as you know. We can’t allow you to run free any longer. You must come with me and the army.”

The muttering grew louder, some people staring at Hanamiya in confusion and fear, most glaring distrustfully at Kiyoshi. He heard the words “witch” and “controlling” somewhere among the crowd and felt his heart sink; the distrust must be coming from the rumours about Riko. He did serve her directly, after all – it would be normal not to trust someone who worked for a suspected witch. 

Hanamiya took a step backwards, his hands gripping his robes to display fear. “I-I really don’t know what you mean. I’ve never committed any crimes you speak of.” His voice sounded panicked, but his eyes still held that glint of malice. That glimmer only increased when he said his next words. “You must have some proof, right?”

“He’s right,” the elderly priest snapped at him, his eyes blazing. “Don’t tell me you’re just going off of a hunch; that’s ridiculous!”

The crowd buzzed around them, clearly agreeing with the priest. Kiyoshi gritted his teeth. Given the person he was, Hanamiya had done surprisingly well at earning everyone’s trust. “I’m afraid we cannot tell you the full reason why we’re here. Please just come with us. We don’t want to have to use force.”

“And you won’t be resorting to force anyway, because you’re not taking him,” the priest growled. “Hanamiya’s not a criminal. In fact, he’s been very helpful to us recently.”

He blinked. That was new. 

Why would Hanamiya be drawing attention to himself if he was trying to lay low?

Kiyoshi turned to the priest. “What do you mean?”

His mouth quirked up in a crooked smile. “He’s got a knack for identifying potential witches. But if you’re not saying anything about his “crimes”, then I’m not saying anything about that.”

Witches. This was about Riko again, wasn’t it? Anger stirred in Kiyoshi’s stomach, but he kept it down. “I must agree that dealing with potential witches is important, but would you really listen to someone who’s being accused of crimes? Especially crimes which mean he must be arrested immediately.”

“What crimes? You won’t even tell us!” someone called from the crowd. 

The priest had finally had enough. He stepped in between Kiyoshi and Hanamiya, glaring up at the advisor with anger burning in his gaze. “You know what, I’ve had enough of this. If you want to come back and give us a little more information on whatever you’re talking about, do it in a couple of days. We’re too busy right now and don’t have the time to waste!”

This wasn’t working.

Kiyoshi sighed. “Very well. We’ll be back later.” 

He gave Hanamiya a brief, hard look before letting the priest escort (or rather, force) him out the door.

The church wasn’t exactly soundproof and Hyuuga had heard everything. When the door closed on the army, he turned to Kiyoshi with narrowed eyes. “So you’re just gonna let them push you out?” 

Kiyoshi shook his head. “You heard what they said. They won’t listen to anyone right now, not when they’re focused on something.”

Hyuuga gritted his teeth before shouting a command to the army, who turned and started marching back into formation. He and Kiyoshi moved back to their positions. “Did they even say what they’re doing?”

“Not specifically, but I imagine it’s something to do with the witches they mentioned.”

Hyuuga frowned. “You reckon they have a suspect.”

“Definitely, although I don’t know if they’ve done anything yet.”

There was a pause. 

“They capture the witch suspects first, right?”

Kiyoshi hesitated. “Yeah. There hasn’t been a trial in a while, but I think that’s usually what happens.”

“Do you think there could’ve been a suspect there while you were talking to them?”

He hadn’t thought of that. “I suppose it is possible. It would explain their hastiness; from my memory the church likes to get these things done as soon as possible. If they already have someone, they must be quite far into the procedure.”

“That’s right.” Hyuuga’s eyes were focused straight ahead of them on nothing in particular. “I wonder who it is.”

Something stirred at the back of Kiyoshi’s mind, a faint, dark suspicion, but he ignored it for now.

“I guess we’ll find out later,” he offered, before they fell into silence once more.

***

It was the early afternoon and Furihata’s eyes were stinging from weariness.

The softness of his pillow was welcomed, but it did nothing to help him get back to sleep. Sounds from the forest like the chirping of birds and faint whispering of the remaining leaves nagged at his mind, preventing him from blocking out his surroundings and keeping him from adding to the measly one hour of sleep he’d managed to get last night. Sometime in the very early morning he’d drifted off, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, however to his despair when he’d woken up again the colour had barely changed. Come to think of it even one hour was pushing it.

He could hear his siblings talking downstairs and tried to ignore them. They weren’t helping. To top it all off an uncomfortable, twisting feeling lingered in his stomach, his feet were cold, and his chest was aflame with nerves.

He was too worried.

It took another few minutes of him lying there before his body seemed to finally realise sleeping was more important than fretting, and Furihata felt a haze fall over his body as his limbs began to relax.

However, becoming more relaxed had also meant he was no longer blocking out the surrounding noises, and as small snippets of the conversation below drifted up to him his brief period of calm was cut short.

“…you sure?”

“…make sense? Akashi-kun…”

Furihata’s stomach flipped at the name.

“If he’s there…”

There was a brief period of silence before he heard a sigh, presumably from Momoi. 

“I don’t know. But he’s there. I’m almost certain.”

He froze. Did she…?

Furihata was up in a flash, throwing off his bedcovers and racing downstairs. 

Momoi and Aomine’s conversation ceased as he appeared in the doorway, eyes wide and hopeful despite the shadows under his eyelids. “Are you talking about Akashi-kun?”

Aomine’s expression barely changed. Momoi looked to the ceiling and let out a breath of air before nodding. “Yes, we are.”

“Then… do you know where he is?”

A shadow of worry crossed his sister’s face for a fleeting moment and it was enough to send a chill through Furihata’s veins. Her voice didn’t waver, but she looked unsure. “We… can’t be certain of anything just yet.”

“So you do know?”

Silence.

Anger bubbled in Furihata’s stomach. Frustration and fear which had been festering in his gut for hours leaked into his words and came out as a desperate shout. “Why aren’t you telling me?!”

He expected to be yelled at but Momoi didn’t even bat an eyelid. “I’m sorry. It’s not that—” 

Aomine interrupted her with an irritated growl. “Oi, don’t be so loud. And what’s the—”

“Don’t interrupt me!” Momoi snapped, whacking his arm. “He has every right to be angry. Quickly then – what are you asking?”

“Ow. I was just asking what the time was.”

Momoi frowned. “Around 2:30. Why?”

She frowned as Aomine stepped past Furihata to the kitchen door. 

“I have a job now. Gotta go.”

Furihata wondered at the flash of alarm that crossed his sister’s face, although it was gone in a moment. “Fine. And be careful. Don’t break anything this time!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aomine left the room, closing the door behind him. Within moments they heard the rustling of coats, the creaking of the front door opening and finally the clicking sound as it shut. 

Momoi cleared her throat. “Sorry about that. I…” Her voice faltered for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure how to phrase her next sentence, but she carried on. “I would tell you. I just don’t want you to be too worried, or run off, or anything like that.”

His stomach twisted. She definitely knew. 

Furihata managed to compose himself, taking a deep breath and looking his sister in the eye. “Tell me. Please.”

She swallowed. “Alright.” 

Silence. The atmosphere was so thick Furihata could almost feel it.

After a moment, she spoke again. “It’s the church. They… may have Akashi-kun.”

Her words took a moment to register in Furihata’s brain, but when they did they slammed into his mind at full force, all the implications and all the consequences of what she meant momentarily knocking the breath out of his lungs. He felt as if he’d just been punched in the gut.

“Th-that’s… you’re sure?”

She nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. 

Furihata’s mind spun. “Hanamiya?”

“Most likely.”

“H-how do you know?”

Momoi looked as if she was about to tell him, but then seemed to bite back her words. He would’ve questioned her more about it if she didn’t look so defeated.

Instead he stared at the floor, scenarios and fears swarming together and plaguing his racing mind. “But why did he…” His voice shook. “How did they… does he count? As a witch? But then surely he… or was he too weak…?” 

He continued mumbling for a few more moments before looking up at Momoi, his knees weak. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

She gave a small shake of her head. “Not right now. I don’t think they’ll let anyone in with this going on. I think Kiyoshi-kun has already tried – people have been talking about it. They turned him away.”

Even Kiyoshi and the army – people with so much more power than him and his siblings – hadn’t managed anything. Furihata’s chest clenched in fear, but there was a twinge of anger lingering there as well. So the church really was stronger than royalty.

Momoi spoke, her voice soft. “We just need to wait until this evening. I think… I think they’re planning on doing it then.”

Furihata’s eyes stung. There was no question about what “it” meant. Suddenly he felt even more tired than earlier.

He stood there for a few moments before nodding and turning around, pushing the door open and exiting the room. “I’m going upstairs.”

Eyes dulled with sadness, Momoi watched him go. She stood there until she heard the sound of his door closing and then sighed, murmuring quietly to herself.

“I’m sorry, Furihata-kun. There’s a lot we haven’t told you. Maybe after all this is over we won’t have to hide anything anymore.”

***

It was a quiet evening.

The air was still, as were the streets and the empty houses lined up along the paths. It was cold, but no one was around to complain; the roads were empty, the doors shut and there was barely any sign of movement anywhere – a cat skulked among the barrels and disappeared around the corner but that was about it. Everything was silent, cold, deserted. Almost everyone had gone to witness it.

Furihata was running.

He was dimly aware of Momoi running next to him, her boots pattering on the ground and breaking the frost, but neither of them spoke. Furihata’s lungs hurt like hell; the square was realistically too far to run all the way but he wouldn’t let himself stop moving.

A loud chime from the clock tower made his stomach lurch. They had to hurry.

“It’s starting,” Momoi gasped next to him. “Quick!”

Furihata gritted his teeth and sped up.

As they ran, they heard a voice, gradually getting clearer. Furihata pondered it for a split second before realising it was the voice of the convictor – the one who told the crowd why the person was being executed and the time of the execution. The voice became louder as they neared the square, ringing out through the streets.

“I can see from your faces this might not have been what you were expecting.”

He willed him to slow down, to be delayed somehow, just to give them enough time to reach the area.

“For any inconvenience caused, we apologise. This is not your normal witch…”

Furihata and Momoi turned the corner and carried on down the final street towards the crowd waiting at the end. Furihata’s heart skipped a beat at the realisation that they weren’t too late, but he faltered for a moment as he saw what was happening.

“…in fact, it would be more accurate to say he’s a sorcerer.”

The crowd of people in the square were grouped around a spiked mountain of wood and sticks, but they couldn’t get too close due to a makeshift barrier holding them back a couple of metres away from the wood. Most people were standing back anyway, their faces apprehensive and scared. Their eyes were directed towards the centre of the pile where a large stake rose out of the dead branches, visible even over the heads of the crowd. And bound to that stake was Akashi Seijuurou.

His feet just about rested on the pile of wood, yet his ankles and arms were bound to the pole, his wrists tied behind the wood. His head hung down, his face hidden from view, and in the middle of his sudden distress at the sight Furihata vaguely noticed his fringe had gotten longer.

He almost stopped running for a moment, feeling a sudden sense of despair, but as Momoi ran past him he quickly regained his senses and rushed after her. 

Furihata quickly overtook her and began to weave his way through the crowd of people. A few of them threw some irritated comments at him as he pushed past. He ignored them.

Finally he reached the front, stumbling out in the front row of the crowd and staring up at the spectacle before his eyes. He was panting, but he was still able to wheeze out his name.

“A… Akashi-kun…” 

The sorcerer’s head rose from its drooped position. His eyes fixed on Furihata, widening as he realised who it was.

Furihata didn’t know what to do. In a state of panic he looked around, frantically trying to find something which could help.

As he looked to the left, just to the side of Akashi, he noticed three figures. One was the man reading, one was holding the burning torch, and the other was staring straight at him. Hanamiya’s hood was down this time, and as their gazes met he raised an eyebrow and his eyes seemed to glint with mocking triumph. In the midst of his terror Furihata felt the hot prickling of rage in his stomach.

He knew it had been Hanamiya, but seeing him while having this knowledge was completely different.

He had to stay composed. Hanamiya wanted to see him break, and no way was he going to give him the satisfaction. Furihata would find a way to fix this.

The man in white was still reading. “This man has been convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. In the next five minutes—”

A shout sliced through the air.

“STOP!”

Everyone turned in alarm at the cry, including Furihata. It had come from the very back of the crowd – he stood on his tiptoes, straining to see and half-cursing his slow growth.

The cry had come from a soldier on horseback. A faint glimmer of hope appeared in his chest, and it only expanded as he recognised who it was.

Hyuuga swung his leg over the other side of the horse and landed on the ground next to it just as a carriage pulled up, led by Tsuchida and another young soldier who appeared to be about the same age. Furihata could just about see the doors opening, releasing the people inside who filed out in an orderly fashion and stood straight and focused. Another person got out of the carriage too, but didn’t join the lines and instead walked forward, right towards to crowd of people.

As the crowd began to part to make way for the newcomers, Furihata’s heart gave a giant leap as he saw the person who hadn’t stood with the others was Kiyoshi, walking down towards the centre of the gathering. Hyuuga followed, his face as serious as ever, and stopped behind Kiyoshi when he halted by the convictor.

Kiyoshi wasted no time. “We apologise for the interruption, but this execution must be stopped.”

A few hushed murmurs flitted about the crowd. 

Surprise flashed across the face of the man in white. Hanamiya seemed like he was trying to look curious, but his eyes had a filthy darkness to them which chilled Furihata to his bones and even made him fear for Hyuuga and Kiyoshi’s safety. 

Speaking of Kiyoshi, the advisor was holding some kind of roll of paper in his hand. Furihata frowned. _What’s that?_

At the speechlessness of the other, Kiyoshi continued. “This man here,” he said, gesturing to Hanamiya, “needs to come with us. I’m sure you’ve already heard about why.”

The whispering from the crowd increased in volume and Furihata felt his stomach flip.

“I heard you came to the church earlier today,” the man said, frowning. “But you didn’t have any evidence. If you still have no evidence, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Without a word, Kiyoshi unrolled the piece of paper and handed it to him.

He took it, eyes skimming over the paper, widening as they got closer to the bottom. “This…”

“A write-up from the former queen. It contains all the details about what Hanamiya has done, and why he’s a wanted criminal. If you’re still sceptical, her signature is there.”

Hanamiya was still trying to look innocent, and as the man in white turned to him he widened his eyes and shook his head, saying something that Furihata couldn’t hear from where he was. The man holding the flame hadn’t moved. Furihata swallowed, his heart pounding in his chest. Did that letter say he was still alive? Would anyone be able to connect him to the incident written on the paper?

The crowd was getting impatient.

Someone called from the back. “What’s going on? What did that man do?”

A few clamouring voices agreed with them.

This time it was Hyuuga who spoke, clearing his throat and raising his voice well above the others. 

“Many of you may remember how the former king and queen’s children all died before the age of fourteen. This is why we have Queen Riko as our ruler now.” He locked eyes with Hanamiya and raised his arm, gesturing to him for the whole crowd to see. “This man’s name is Hanamiya Makoto, and he was responsible for those deaths. He has committed treason, and must be punished!”

A twinge of relief sparked in Furihata’s gut as he realised his mother had continued to cover up his existence, but it was soon overtaken by alarm. The crowd’s whisperings had all of a sudden turned into loud exclamations and protests at the information; the unexpected noise assaulted Furihata’s ears and he flinched. 

“What? He did all that? But he’s only a devout!” 

“Can’t they just catch him and finish the execution? Having a witch running free sounds just as bad as letting this man go!”

At this Furihata looked up at Akashi once more, whose head had resumed the drooped position. However, there was something different about his posture.

Hearing a slight crack, he looked down at Akashi’s feet. The sorcerer’s legs were tense, his heels pushing against the wood of the stake, which was in bad condition and beginning to weaken. Hope glimmered in Furihata’s chest again (he didn't even spare a moment to wonder why they'd used such a weak stake), but it was almost forgotten when someone shoved into his back.

The crowd was beginning to deform, getting louder and louder as people tried to make themselves heard over each other – some saying Hanamiya should be immediately taken away and executed, others saying that the execution was more important and should take priority. The barrier around the firewood was barely existent anymore; people had pushed past it and were much closer to the site than they should’ve been in order to be safe, but none seemed to care. The orderly circle was gone and Furihata stumbled, struggling to keep his balance as he was pushed backwards into the crowd. 

People were buffeting him, trapping him. He began to panic. _I can’t get stuck here!_

As he saw Akashi over the heads of the others, a rush of determination seized him and he began to plough forwards through the crowd. When he finally broke through to the front once more he braced himself, took a couple of giant leaps and alighted on top of the firewood right where Akashi was tied.

Without a word he began undoing the ropes on Akashi’s ankles. If he was planning to escape by breaking the stake with his feet, these wouldn’t help him.

He heard clamours behind him but blocked out the noise, fingers trembling as he tried to undo the tight knots. No one came to stop him; either they didn’t notice him or just thought he was one of the people who wanted Hanamiya to be caught instantly, even if it meant sabotaging the execution. Which wasn’t exactly a lie. He gritted his teeth, and with a giant tug, pulled the last strip off from around Akashi’s ankles.

Triumph surged through his veins. He’d done it! 

Now either Akashi could escape by breaking the wood, or Furihata could untie the rest of his bonds. He looked up at the sorcerer, words on the tip of his tongue.

He instantly stopped. Akashi’s gaze was fixed on something behind him, and at the same time Furihata felt a chill in the depths of his bones.

Cornered and furious in the middle of the crowd, Hanamiya had had enough. 

Whirling around in a flash, he grabbed the flaming torch from the man behind him, who didn’t even have a chance to react. The people near him screamed and the crowd simultaneously rushed to get out of the way as if some kind of force repelled them from Hanamiya. As Furihata turned, they met eyes, and his stomach twisted with dread.

With a strong toss of his arm, Hanamiya threw the burning torch as hard as he could towards Akashi and Furihata – just as Akashi placed his untied feet on Furihata’s shoulders and shoved as hard as he could, sending him tumbling down the pile of wood and onto the ground.

Furihata righted himself and scrambled backwards, ignoring any bruises he’d gained from the fall, just in time to see the flame hit the wood under Akashi’s feet.

_No._

There was no time to pray. The flame was already spreading, forming a burning ring around the sorcerer and spreading up towards him and down towards Furihata, engulfing the wood and reaching up, up, up, clawing into the darkening sky. Furihata could only watch as the flames reared up, engulfing Akashi and distorting his image with their twisting and howling.

Numbness overtook his body. A hole had opened in his chest and Furihata felt like he was back to square one – the useless, scared boy he’d viewed himself as for so long. He wanted to do something, anything, but he couldn’t. His limbs just wouldn’t respond.

And then, through the flames, he saw a golden glow.

The fire, which had been slowly spreading up the stake, suddenly grew to three times its height. A pillar of orange shot up into the sky with a roar and a scream – many screams, too many for Furihata to count – they were all around him, unholy shrieks coming from the mouths of the crowd as they turned away from the monstrosity – was that his own voice among the cries? He couldn’t tell – his eyes were burning hot, too hot as he gazed into the flaming tower before him, unable to tear himself away. In the midst of the flames he could just about make out Akashi lifting his feet and bringing them crashing down on the base of the stake, breaking it in half and sending him plummeting down among the flames. After that Furihata lost sight of him.

He could hear a screaming voice that sounded like his own, but it didn’t feel like him. His throat was numb, his hands felt foreign and he could feel himself involuntarily stumbling, trying to pull himself off the ground but only succeeding in tripping over his unfeeling feet and staring into the stone and earth of the floor.

Hanamiya wasn’t done.

Detached from everything around him, Furihata could just about register him getting closer, closer, facing little to no resistance due to the confusion and terror of the crowd, approaching the crumpled boy on the floor with venom in his eyes. Furihata knew he was coming to harm him – he wasn’t supposed to have escaped the flames and he knew it, but he couldn’t do anything against him. 

Again, he was powerless to stop Hanamiya. He’d failed.

It was a familiar voice that brought his senses back to life.

“Don’t touch my brother, you FIEND!”

A blur of pink appeared behind Hanamiya, a strangled sound escaped his mouth as he was struck in the back, and he was down. Furihata’s mind cleared just enough to register Momoi crouching over him, saying something he couldn’t decipher, a deeper voice from his other side which sounded like Aomine and the footsteps of the army as they rushed forward to restrain Hanamiya. With half-lidded eyes, Furihata turned his head and looked towards the stake.

Akashi was nowhere to be seen. The last flickers of the flames were beginning to die out as people worked to subdue the fire, the sorcerer forgotten.

Furihata’s eyes stung from the smoke and he felt himself cough, his vision blurring. He’d been too close to the fire when it’d started, that was certain. Trying desperately to focus, he peered through the smoke and the throng of people, trying to catch any glimpse of Akashi whatsoever. Just anything to show he was alive.

In the distance, he could just make something out. 

A hooded figure, standing right at the edge of the forest that bordered the square.

He blinked, and it was gone.

That was the last thing Furihata saw before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A combination of schoolwork and this chapter generally being monstrous for me to work with led to this being put up over a month after the last one, sorry about that. I hope it was worth the wait;;
> 
> But boy, did I have fun writing this. Especially the second half. Also I feel like it might be time to mention that I've extended the chapter count to 28 - this includes the epilogue, which I didn't count at first for whatever reason. So the story will be 27 chapters and an epilogue. Two more parts to go!
> 
> Another note: From here on out I'll be referring to Riko as Queen Riko instead of Queen Aida. I'm not sure why I used her last name in the first place since kings and queens are usually called by their first names, oops. I might go back and edit the chapters with the new title later (although that might render this message sort of useless). 
> 
> Thank you for all your reviews! Some of the ones I've gotten really made me smile <3
> 
> And, of course, thank you for reading~


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

A bird was tweeting outside his room.

It was a pleasant tune, really. There weren’t many birds around anymore; most of them had all gone to warmer places for the winter. This one was probably either staying or one of the last ones, singing its final song to the forest before heading off.

Furihata studied the ceiling absentmindedly. His eyes followed the lines between the wood, the dark marks spiralling into each other and abruptly stopping where the planks ended, moving across to the beams and tracing the defined curves. The light streaming in through the window hurt his eyes and he squinted and looked away. It was surprisingly bright outside despite the clouds covering the sun – however the glow didn’t reflect his mood at all.

Due to a combination of lack of sleep, stress and fright, he’d blacked out in the square just after seeing the distant figure. After waking up at home with Momoi standing over him pressing a cold towel to his forehead, she’d filled him in on what had happened after. Aomine had been there too, but he’d been strangely quiet.

Hanamiya had finally been captured and taken to the centre of town, where he was currently undergoing a trial which would inevitably land him in jail for life or give him a death sentence. Furihata should also expect some kind of word from Kiyoshi after everything was sorted. It didn’t really seem real, nor did he think much of it. He just never wanted to see Hanamiya again, no matter what happened to either of them.

He didn’t jump when somebody knocked on his door. He didn’t reply, either.

Momoi’s voice sounded from outside. “Furihata-kun? It’s past three in the afternoon.”

She sounded hesitant. Furihata hadn’t even been aware of what time it was or how long he’d been lying there for.

“You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday. Please come down.”

He wasn’t hungry either, but the sound of another person’s voice had brought him back to reality enough to think logically. Even if he didn’t feel like eating, he couldn’t neglect his health.

Furihata managed a reply. “Okay.” His words sounded strange and whispery; the smoke had temporarily caused him to lose his voice. It didn’t sound like it belonged to him.

After hearing Momoi pattering away from his door, he slowly sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He was already dressed, but whether he’d gotten dressed earlier or if these were the same clothes from yesterday he couldn’t remember.

Standing up, he immediately found himself trembling and sat down again. His limbs felt flimsy and weak – it took a while for him to resume and make his way downstairs.

As he walked he became increasingly aware of a lingering hollow feeling in his chest. His body had felt so numb until now that he’d barely noticed it, but it was definitely there, and growing more and more noticeable by the second. Furihata knew exactly why it was there – a part of him told him he was jumping to conclusions; there was no guarantee anyone had died in the fire last night, or that that was the last he’d ever seen of Akashi – but they were tiny thoughts compared to the darker ones overshadowing them.

No one survived being burnt at the stake. The flames killed people within a few minutes, and within the first minute the smoke would scorch your lungs and begin to destroy you from the inside. Logically, there was no way Akashi could have survived.

He entered the kitchen. Momoi was outside in the garden, but Aomine was sitting at the table with an empty plate. Silence hung in the air as Furihata moved to the loaf of bread, cutting himself a slice and pouring himself a glass of water before sitting down opposite his brother and beginning to sip it slowly, staring reluctantly at the food.

He glanced up at Aomine, who wasn’t looking at him. He seemed distracted.

Furihata managed to swallow a mouthful of bread, before realising that he was actually a little hungrier than he’d thought and taking another bite. The last few mouthfuls were hard, but he managed to chew and force them down before pushing his plate a few centimetres away from him and staring silently at the tablecloth.

Aomine shifted and cleared his throat. Furihata didn’t look up.

“Feeling better?”

He didn’t reply. A sigh came from Aomine’s direction, and then another sentence. “I have to tell you something.”

Furihata didn’t move, but glanced up at Aomine to show he was listening. His brother seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if he were considering biting back his words, but shook it off and managed to speak.

“I don’t think Akashi is dead.”

Slowly, Furihata raised his head to look Aomine in the eye.

The certainty in his brother’s gaze caused a tiny spark of hope to ignite in his chest, and he became aware of his own heartbeat again. Before he knew it, he had opened his mouth and asked the question which had been plaguing his mind for days.

“Aomine-kun… did you and Momoi-san know Akashi?”

Aomine looked away. “You could say that.”

“Please tell me.”

He sighed, looking conflicted. Furihata held his breath, praying this wasn’t the end of the conversation, and then let his shoulders sag in relief as Aomine decided. “Alright.”

He seemed strangely relaxed as he spoke, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“You’ve heard the first part of this before. Satsuki and I lived near each other as kids. My parents let me do a lot like go play on my own, but her parents weren’t as relaxed. They thought I was a bad influence on her and tried to arrange for her to be married in the future – they planned to send her away to her future husband’s family so she could be raised with “suitable people” instead of the kids in the neighbourhood like me.”

Furihata nodded, listening. He had heard this before, but he hadn’t known that it was connected to something else.

“She overheard them talking about it, though, and came to tell me. She was outraged, and didn’t want to go. I didn’t want it either and thought rebelling against her annoying parents would be fun, so… we decided to run away.”

“We were only about seven years old and didn’t realise what this meant. Within a few hours we were lost, cold, hungry and wanted to go home. Hell, if we had gone back, maybe they would’ve reconsidered seeing how much Satsuki had hated the idea.” Aomine shrugged. “But we didn’t. We didn’t know how to get back. In fact, due to living in a cluster of very small states, we’d wandered over the border into another area. We were lucky to be found by an old woman and taken in. Not long after, this same woman welcomed you as she had done to us. Of course, we weren’t told where you had come from at the time – but that’s not important.”

The story came to a halt. Unease crossed Aomine’s face and lingered for a few moments, before he closed his eyes and sighed with resignation. “Better get this over with.”

Furihata looked at him in confusion as he focused his gaze on the plate in front of him, and then raised his hand.

He definitely wasn’t expecting what happened next.

As Aomine stared at the plate, it began to rise off the table, hovering in the air and turning a few times before slowly being lowered back down onto the wood once more. Furihata stared at the plate, then back to Aomine, then back to the plate again, his heart racing. “A-Aomine-kun, you’re…”

“A sorcerer? Yeah.” Behind his stoic gaze, Furihata could still detect confidence. “I rarely use my abilities anymore, only the barest to help me with everyday stuff. Like jobs. It’s ‘cause my speciality is control over movement, so it helps.” He balled his hand into a fist, then relaxed it again. “It’s been a while since I used that one, though. My best spell is manipulating speed, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to use that here.”

The brief fear Furihata had felt at the discovery of his brother being a sorcerer had faded, being replaced by curiosity and wonder. He could worry about it later; the reveal had only created more questions. 

He wanted to know more. “Go on.”

“Anyway. I discovered my powers pretty young, just before Satsuki and I ran away. When I showed her she was scared but also amazed, and told me she’d help me control them. This led to her discovering her own powers – specifically the ability to observe and foresee the actions and developments of others with just a thought.”

Furihata’s mind whirled. “Wait – Momoi-san is a sorcerer too?”

“Yeah. Sorcerer, sorceress, whatever. People would call her a witch since she’s a girl, but because her parents were both normal she’s definitely a sorcerer.”

“Y-yeah.” Furihata nodded slowly, trying to take everything in. “Akashi-kun… Akashi-kun told me that.”

Saying his name caused a painful pang in his chest. “Um, please carry on.”

Aomine cleared his throat.

“Not long after you joined us, we moved to Touland, in an area close to the border of Teikoun. Teikoun is huge, second in size to Yosenia, and being the reckless kids we were Satsuki and I vowed to go explore someday. And when we were twelve, we did. This was where we met Akashi.”

Furihata held his breath. Come to think of it, he did remember them sneaking out for hours on end when they were that age – and during their next few years, too. 

“After a while of wandering, we stumbled across him. Instantly he could tell we were sorcerers. This was our first time meeting anyone like us, and we were unsure whether to trust him or not. But he eventually convinced us to follow him deeper into the woods, ‘cause he said he had something to show us.”

“It turned out he wasn’t the only sorcerer in the area. He was staying in the same place as three – no, four more. He told us they hadn’t come together for any particular reason – they had met by chance and decided it would be safer to stay in a group rather than continue being scattered.”

“We thought it was amazing at first, and told him we would come and visit regularly since we had a place to stay unlike the majority of the others. However, as the years went by and sorcerers came and went, things began to change.”

“After a certain event, the entire group was thrown into disarray. We all grew apart, to the point where this union was causing more pain than benefit. Akashi recognised this, and gave the order for us to be disbanded.”

If Aomine hadn’t looked so weary, Furihata may have pressed him for a more detailed explanation. He found himself remembering the time when they had tried to do the spell with fire, and the figure he’d seen in the flames as Akashi had collapsed, but at his brother’s tired expression he bit back his questions and carried on listening.

“But before doing this, he told us to swear something. Although we were separating, and although we would likely be enemies from this point out, he told us this.”

“No matter what happens, if any of us were about to die at the hands of someone who was not a sorcerer, one of us must aid the victim. Akashi was determined to survive – determined not to let non-sorcerers win. I highly doubt he did this out of the goodness of his own heart.” Aomine’s eyes narrowed at Furihata curiously. “Although, he looks to have changed a bit since I last saw him.”

Furihata swallowed, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Figured it out yet?”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“Remember what I told you first. I don’t think Akashi is dead.”

Furihata stared at Aomine for a few moments, before something clicked. Suddenly, he remembered the damaged stake, the unnaturally towering flames, the figure at the back of the square who had disappeared just before he’d blacked out.

“Someone helped him?” he croaked quietly.

Aomine didn’t answer his question. Instead, he looked him in the eye and spoke.

“Go to the clearing.”

“Y-you sure?”

“Yeah. Go.”

His heart in his mouth, Furihata hurriedly stood up from the table, gulping down the rest of the water before making his way to the door.

Before leaving, he turned. “Aomine-kun?”

“Mhm?”

“Um… thank you.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on Aomine’s face. “Don’t thank me. Just go.”

Furihata nodded hurriedly before shutting the kitchen door behind him.

It didn’t take him long to get ready; the anticipation in his veins spurred him on. Before long, Furihata was out of the house and walking quickly down the path.

His mind was full of thoughts, but he didn’t stop to focus on any of them. He was only thinking of his objective. _I have to get to the clearing. The clearing._

As he ran, he was distracted briefly by an ice-cold touch to his hand. Stopping in surprise, he looked down and saw a wet patch on his skin, then looked up into the sky. Several white flakes had started falling, slowly but surely beginning to settle on the leaves and on his coat and hair. It had started to snow.

He gazed up at it. _It’s pretty._

Remembering his objective, he carried on walking.

When Furihata reached the clearing the snow had created a light dusting of white on his shoulders and he found himself brushing snowflakes and half-melted ice out of his hair so he could see properly. The flakes were rather large but they were falling slowly and didn’t hinder his eyesight at all, so he was still able to scan the area.

The door to Akashi’s house had been closed, probably by the wind. Akashi himself was nowhere to be seen.

That didn’t matter. He was prepared to wait.

The snow had settled on the log where they normally sat. Furihata lowered himself onto the trunk and shivered, wrapping his coat around him and tightening his scarf. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to wait, or even what he was expecting to happen – just that Aomine had told him to go to the clearing, and that it must be important.

The snow carried on falling, and he felt his toes begin to grow numb.

He waited for what seemed like an age. Was anything going to happen, or was he going to freeze to death? The tree branches above him rattled with a sudden gust of wind, and he felt himself shiver again, burying his face in his scarf to warm it up.

“Hello.”

The sudden voice made Furihata flinch with a yelp, almost falling off the tree trunk and then struggling to regain his composure. “H-huh?”

He looked around for a few moments before spotting the source of the voice.

A figure stood there, their face hidden by a dark grey hood. The hood was attached to cloak which reached down to the ground and was joined at the front by a few strings, hiding the person underneath from Furihata’s view. A flicker of recognition sparked in his brain.

He remembered. It was the figure that had been at the back of the square. It had to be.

Furihata’s heart pounded. “How long have you been there?”

“I’ve been here this whole time.”

“R-really?” He felt a little bad. “Sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Don’t be sorry.” The figure angled his head down towards Furihata, and the latter managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes. “Even if you had been paying attention, you likely wouldn’t have noticed me.”

He raised his hands and carefully pulled down his hood from over his head.

Furihata was almost surprised at how normal he looked. His face was an average shape and the plain, untainted blue of his eyes made him seem rather harmless at first glance. The only thing which stood out about him was his pale blue hair, and even that seemed to fade in with the white of the sky and snow.

However, Furihata could tell he wasn’t harmless. When he’d first met Akashi, he could tell from his presence that he was strong and not to be messed with. However, with this person it was different.

While it was pretty much impossible not to notice when Akashi was in a room, he felt like if he looked away from the figure he wouldn’t be able to tell he was there. He had no presence whatsoever, and this made Furihata uneasy. It was as if he were looking at a ghost.

However, even if he was a ghost, Furihata still had questions. “You were at the witch execution, weren’t you?”

A nod. 

“Did you… did you do anything? To help Akashi-kun, I mean?”

“Yes. I was involved.”

Furihata stood up and looked him in the eye, realising with surprise that for once he was slightly taller than the figure. “Um, may I have your name?”

He blinked calmly. “My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. You must be Furihata-kun?”

Somehow the fact that this Kuroko person knew his name didn’t alarm Furihata in the slightest. He’d experienced much stranger things over the course of the past month, after all. “Yes, that’s me.”

Furihata looked around the clearing, surveying the snow-covered branches and the frost encasing each individual blade of grass. His gaze landed on the house, and he was suddenly curious about whether scene inside was the same as it had been last time he was here.

He turned to the figure. “Thank…”

“…you,” he finished, realising with a start that Kuroko was nowhere to be seen.

After a brief moment of curious confusion, Furihata turned and started towards the house, his heart pounding with every step he took.

Ages seemed to pass before he reached the door. He stood there for a moment, before slowly raising a hand to grasp the doorknob.

There was a rustling noise behind him. Furihata turned around, half expecting it to be the cloaked figure again.

He had to do a double take.

A few feet away from him, surrounded by slowly-falling snowflakes, stood Akashi.

 _He looks thin,_ was the first thing Furihata thought. It hadn’t been long since he’d last seen him, but he found himself wondering whether Akashi had eaten at all after being taken. The bottoms of his trousers were ripped and singed at the edges, and even his face looked worn and weary.

They stared at each other for a few moments which seemed to last for an eternity.

Then, Furihata’s legs moved on their own, carrying him in a couple of strides across the space before practically crashing into him and wrapping his arms around his chest, pulling them as close together as possible and burying his face in the crook of his neck. He dimly registered Akashi’s arms doing the same and holding Furihata close, but this faded into the background as a sob escaped his lips and he began to cry into Akashi’s chest.

He felt Akashi stroking his back as they stood there, and after a moment the sorcerer carefully guided him back to the fallen tree where they sat down. Furihata’s hands were hooked in Akashi’s coat, his shoulders shaking with each sob and sound. Akashi didn’t say a word, just held him there while running his fingers down Furihata’s back and shoulders, resting Furihata’s head next to his.

After a while his crying seemed to slow to a quiet whimper and Furihata was able to relax his hold, sitting up straighter and raising his head to get a better look at him. His face was pale, paler than usual and his eyes looked tired, but they hadn’t lost their warmth. Furihata examined the rest of him and noticed in more detail the tattered ends of his trousers and sleeves, seared away by the flames and barely concealing the burns around his ankles and hands. Shakily Furihata took Akashi’s hand in his and pulled back the sleeve, almost stopping when Akashi stiffened with a quiet hiss of pain. They didn’t look too bad; they would leave faint scars, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t heal. 

Slowly, Furihata raised Akashi’s burnt hand to his lips and gently kissed it, taking care not to press on the more severe part of the burn. As he drew away he felt Akashi bring his other hand to the back of Furihata’s head, carefully running his fingers through the brown locks – at the contact Furihata felt tears prick at his eyes once again and ducked his head as more of them spilled from his eyes and onto Akashi’s hand. He didn’t resist as he was pulled into a hug again, resting his forehead on Akashi’s shoulder and trying to calm his breathing.

Akashi was here. Just as Aomine had said, he was alive. Furihata kept expecting to wake up from a dream any minute now, but this was definitely real – the wetness on his face, the warmth of his arms around him, the pain and yet bursting happiness in his chest – all of these things were real. 

Akashi was real. 

Neither of them had spoken yet, but Furihata managed to choke out a few words. “Y-you’re alive.”

Akashi drew his hand up to Furihata’s face and carefully wiped the tears from his cheeks. “I’m alive.”

Hearing his voice seemed to help Furihata relax. Slowly sitting up so he could look him in the eye, he stared at him in wonder. “How?”

“Foresight.” Akashi smiled. “And, well, a bit of assistance.”

His voice sounded scratched. Furihata realised it must still be a little damaged from the smoke; Akashi had been right in the centre of the fire, after all.

Looking down, he examined the marks on Akashi’s hands and the burns on his clothes – and Furihata’s own hands, innocent and clean in comparison although not as pale. He smiled softly, tracing the lines on Akashi’s palm with care. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

They fell silent, with only the occasional cheep of a robin breaking the stillness.

Finally, Akashi spoke. “Kouki… I can’t stay here.”

Through his relief, Furihata felt a pang of worry. He’d been afraid of this, and now it was inevitable.

“I’ve done what I needed to do, and with what happened in the square it’s only a matter of time before my whereabouts are discovered. I don’t want to build up a large reputation here.”

Furihata gave a small nod.

“I would have stayed longer if this hadn’t happened, but as you know—”

“Please stay.”

Furihata’s hands tightened around Akashi’s fingers. Akashi stopped talking, looking at his lowered head in surprise. “Kouki?”

“Please.” Furihata looked up at him, his eyes serious. “Not forever. I understand why you need to go. Just… please stay until your burns heal. I can talk to Momoi-san and Aomine-kun and convince them to let you stay with us.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded firmly. 

Silence fell again, in which Akashi seemed to be weighing up both options.

Finally, he sighed. “Alright. Give me a moment.”

He drew back from Furihata, raised his hands and frowned, concentrating his gaze on their skin, before a haze seemed to travel down his arms and enclose the rest of his body. After a moment, he relaxed and lowered his hands.

“There. They should heal faster now. I won’t have to stay for longer than three days.”

As much as Furihata wanted him to stay longer, he had to admit that Momoi and Aomine may not be comfortable with that idea. More importantly, he was mesmerised by the spell Akashi had just done. “Was that a healing spell?”

“Somewhat. Healing spells aren’t my forte, so I tend to use other methods. The one I did just now increased the speed of the process rather than fixed the injury.”

“That’s really cool.” Furihata looked at Akashi in wonder and realised how much he still didn’t know about him, especially his magic. Plus, the conversation he’d had with Aomine earlier had only added to his curiosity. He only had 3 days – in that time he promised himself he would make an effort to find out more.

Akashi stood up from the tree, stretching briefly before reaching up to brush his fringe out of his eyes. Furihata watched, and then smiled and stood up. “Want me to cut that again for you?”

“Hmm…” Akashi took a strand of hair between his fingers. “I think I’ll leave it for a bit longer, actually. Having longer hair has its benefits in the middle of winter.”

“Because forehead insulation is the most important part about keeping warm,” Furihata teased, reaching over to ruffle Akashi’s hair and then laughing at the sudden look of alarm on his face as he jerked away to smooth it out again. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry.” He grinned and stepped back. “Do you want to come now, or is there anything you need to do first?”

Akashi looked away thoughtfully. “Well, you should probably warn your siblings. I’d like to change into some unburnt clothes since I was too weary to before.”

“Alright. So should I come and get you later?”

“Yes. I won’t need that long, so come whenever you’d like.”

Furihata nodded. “Okay, I will.”

He was just about to turn away when he stopped and reconsidered, instead taking a step towards Akashi and leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. He suddenly felt his face flush, the brief moment of boldness gone, and quickly darted away before the other could respond. “S-see you soon, Akashi-kun!”

Akashi fondly watched him go. “See you soon, Kouki.”

***

The snow from that day had settled and stayed, even being added to by a couple of thinner blankets. When Furihata stepped outside he shivered, pulling his scarf up around his face. Winter was here, no doubt.

He tied his scarf tighter and began to walk purposefully down the path. Next to him walked Akashi, his scarf tied loosely around his neck, seemingly unbothered by the cold. It wasn’t currently snowing, but the air was chilly. Furihata was glad he’d remembered to bring gloves.

The walk was silent. Both were deep in thought.

After walking for a short while Furihata could see the clearing ahead of them and felt a sense of nostalgia. They wouldn’t be going there today, but he would be sure to visit it occasionally in the coming months. The atmosphere and his associations with the place calmed him and made it a suitable place for him to sit and think.

Feet crunching in the snow, the two passed the clearing and kept walking. Furihata realised he hadn’t been to this part of the woods in ages and made an effort to memorise the path they were taking just in case it snowed later and covered their footsteps. He didn’t want to get lost on his way back.

Finally, Akashi halted, looking around. “I think this is fine.”

Furihata watched him, his stomach twisting with a sadness he’d tried to supress over the walk. Akashi seemed to realise this, for after a moment of looking at him he took a step forward and grasped Furihata’s hands in his own.

“It’s okay. You’ll be fine.”

“I know that.” Furihata swallowed. “I’ll miss you, that’s all.”

“And I’ll miss you, too. That’s why this isn’t a permanent goodbye.” Akashi kissed his forehead, brushing off a bit of snow out of Furihata’s hair that had fallen from one of the trees. “We’ll see each other again.”

Furihata nodded, steeling himself and letting out a breath. “Yeah. We will.”

He reached out and pulled Akashi into a hug, breathing in the scent of his coat and trying to memorise the feeling of being held in his arms. He couldn’t help but be surprised at how small Akashi was every time they had close contact like this – he was taller than him, yes, but not by much at all, and his presence made him seem like he should be taller than he actually was. But Furihata preferred it this way; it felt more equal. If either of their heights were different it wouldn’t be the same.

He bit his lip. “Um… Akashi-kun?”

“Mhm?”

Furihata’s chest fluttered, then he closed his eyes and breathed out, feeling his voice flow out into the cold air. “I… I love you.”

There was a brief pause before Akashi’s arms loosened around his middle and he felt a soft kiss being pressed to his jaw, sending sparks down his spine. “I love you too.”

After that, Akashi’s grip tightened around him once more and the two fell silent. Despite the cold, Furihata’s chest and hands were warm, and his entire body felt relaxed and happy. He could’ve stayed like this forever.

However, like all things, it had to come to an end. Furihata loosened his grip and began to step away, but stopped when Akashi stepped back only for his hold to shift to his hands. They met eyes, and Furihata was almost alarmed at the intensity in Akashi’s gaze.

He spoke. “Kouki. Did you learn how to read and write?”

“Huh?” Furihata took a moment to register what Akashi had just said. “Um, yeah. Not as well as I’d like, but…”

“Then write to me. I’ll write to you first, to tell you where I am and where to send the letters to.”

Furihata’s mind spun. Where did he even keep his pencil? He rarely used it. Wasn’t his paper in one of the drawers? Did he even have any left? He’d have to go and buy some; he didn’t want to run out. Shaking himself back to reality, he squeezed Akashi’s hands and nodded. “I will.”

Akashi smiled. “Thank you.”

They kissed briefly, just a sweet parting press of their lips.

The sorcerer didn’t say goodbye as he left, just let his hand slip out of Furihata’s and turned, beginning to walk away. Furihata stared after him for a few seconds before putting his hands either side of his mouth and calling out to him. “Have a safe journey, Akashi-kun!”

Akashi turned and called back. “You, too.”

Furihata smiled and waved, only stopping when he’d lost sight of Akashi among the trees.

There was a twinge of bitterness lingering inside him, but he vowed not to let it get any bigger. He would be fine; he had Momoi and Aomine, plus a new life ahead of him where he wouldn’t have to hide his secrets anymore. Instead of wishing Akashi was here right now, he would just look forward to seeing him in the future. 

They would meet again. He was sure of it.

As he turned away from their farewell place, Furihata walked with resolve in his step and did not look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 27 is here! Sorry if there are any spelling/other errors, I am v tired.
> 
> One more part to come! The epilogue is almost done and dusted and will be released on Furihata's birthday, the 8th of November. I hope you're all going to throw huge parties.
> 
> Thanks for reading~


	28. Epilogue

Laboured breathing. Quickened footsteps. Twigs cracking under their weight.

He was running. He barely knew where he was going; it was so dark and the snow on the ground grabbed at his feet with each step and tried to pull him down with its icy grip. Not many flakes got through the canopy of dark green pines above him, but occasionally some snow would tumble from the rustling branches and fall on his face, causing him to flinch instinctively before he could carry on.

He gritted his teeth, pressing on and vaguely hearing the rush of a river next to him. _I can easily keep going. The border isn’t far from here. Damn them, I knew escaping had been too easy!_

After an undisturbed burst of speed, he began to relax, when all of a sudden something flashed in the darkness and made him come to a dead halt.

He swung his head around and almost shouted into the night, but quickly calmed himself. _Not now. If there is anything there, shouting will just reveal your position. Come on, Makoto. Use your brain._

Letting out a breath, he turned and continued to slip through the trees, but slowly this time and testing the ground before stepping to avoid anything that would make a sound. He needed to be calm. Running blindly wouldn’t help – it would just get him caught again. Not that escaping again would be hard; the two brats had let him get out on purpose.

The flash came again, briefly tinting the trees gold before vanishing. He ignored it. Whatever it was, he could outsmart it. 

He immediately stopped again when something he noticed out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head. 

Brief alarm coursed through his veins at first, but then slowed and drained away. In the darkness, a single gold eye was glowing. It was fixed in position, as if it belonged to a person, but he couldn’t see anyone there because it was so dark. However, he recognised the eye.

A smirk crossed his lips as he turned to face it. “You.”

A level voice came from the direction of the eye. “Yes, me.”

The eye vanished. The man was left in darkness once more.

Before he could carry on walking the eye appeared again with a flash, only this time on his other side. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“I had my suspicions.” The slope of his shoulders had no noticeable tension whatever, and his dark eyes stared straight into the golden orb. “Fire doesn’t make people just vanish, after all. You had to have gone somewhere; there was no corpse. Ah, speaking of which, how did you manage to alter the flames like that? I’m interested.”

The eye stared at him, unblinking. “You’re about to find out.”

That was the last of the eye’s words for now and it vanished into the blackness once more. The man narrowed his eyes at the spot where it had once been, then shrugged. “Well, that was just rude.”

Not wanting to stay in one spot, he carried on. He made sure to be on his guard as he walked, of course. He needed to be prepared for anything, especially after the eye’s last words.

However, preparation wouldn’t have been enough.

The eye appeared again, right in front of him, succeeding in making him flinch, but before he could come out with a comment it vanished, then appeared again even closer. His heart pounded and he took a step back. At this distance he could tell it wasn’t accompanied by a person. “Hey, hey.”

It closed, opened, closed again, and then suddenly multiplied.

Golden eyes stared at him from every angle – eyes of different sizes and shapes, even different transparencies. His own eyes widened for a moment before he managed to calm himself, raising his hands and shrugging. “Nice try, but you’re going to have to do better than that—”

His speech was suddenly cut short as he looked at his hand.

A golden eye stared back at him, his skin stretching and moving as it blinked. 

His breath hitched, and in that instant his skin stretched and forced itself open into multiple more golden eyes, rippling up his arms and to his neck as if controlled by a deadly infection. His hands began to tremble – some part of him seemed to know it was an illusion and that his skin wasn’t actually sprouting eyes, but their intense, piercing gazes and the uncontrollable panic that was growing inside him soon made his instincts take over and he bolted out of the area.

The eyes followed him, spinning and growing and shrinking and dancing, turning his brain to mush and preventing any rational thoughts from entering his head. He stumbled and tripped – he’d lost his sense of direction, didn’t even know where he was going anymore – just needed to get away from the relentless eyes. They seemed to be multiplying even as he ran, a spiral of eyes reaching to the sky – in a weird way it reminded him of the way the fire had suddenly grown tenfold at the execution. He’d completely lost his bearings.

The man didn’t realise how loud the sound of rushing water was growing until it was too late.

The ground fell away beneath his feet, and he gave a shout as he tumbled straight into the ice-cold grip of the river.

After a splash, the woods were silent once more.

It was almost as if nothing had ever occurred. There were no yellow eyes watching the surroundings, just a few footsteps imprinted in the snow and a streak of mud by the river where something had slipped. A hushed atmosphere hung over the forest.

It wasn’t devoid of presence, however. A younger man stepped out of the bushes, making his way towards the river and leaning out to survey the flow. The disturbance had disrupted it briefly but now it was back to its normal pace, swiftly rushing over the rocks and racing away with anything that fell into its clutches.

He stepped back and rubbed his head slightly. That little spectacle had given him a slight headache.

“Hello, Akashi-kun.”

The man stopped, hesitating before turning to where the voice had come from. “Hello, Tetsuya.”

Another figure emerged from the shadows, his hood covering his head. However, his blue eyes were still visible. “Is your head okay?”

“It’ll fade soon.” Akashi stepped away from the riverbank. “Good work, by the way. I see your illusions are as good as I remember.”

“Thank you.” Kuroko remained expressionless, aside from a brief flicker of unease at Akashi’s words. “Did the final spell work?”

“It did.” Akashi’s left eye glowed briefly to demonstrate this fact, before fading back to red again. “It was a lot easier the second time.”

“Have you told Furihata-kun?”

A pause.

Kuroko blinked at him. “I see.”

“He doesn’t need to know about it just yet. I have a feeling it would shock him.”

“Akashi-kun, I don’t think you have enough faith in him. I’ve only seen him twice, and even I can tell he’s stronger than you think he is.”

Akashi narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”

Another pause. A vague hint of surprise crossed Kuroko’s face, but it was soon gone. “You noticed.”

“I did. Several times, in fact. How long have you been living in Seirida for?”

“A few months.”

“Where?”

His eyes gave away nothing. “I’ve been staying with a friend.”

“Oh?” Interest lined Akashi’s tone. “It can’t have been Daiki or Satsuki.”

“It’s not. But that’s not what we’re talking about.” Underneath Kuroko’s solemn stare, Akashi could detect hints of accusation. “When exactly are you going to tell him?”

He stared back, unflinching. “About what?”

“Everything. How being caught was part of the plan. How you did the final spell in the fire while being burnt at the stake, and required me and Aomine-kun to ensure you escaped with your life. How you can now see the future whenever you want, without the aid of external sources.” Blue eyes burned into red ones, waiting for an answer. 

Akashi turned away. “I’ll tell him when we next meet.”

As Kuroko watched him go, he looked back. “Oh, and Tetsuya?”

“Yes?”

“If you see Daiki, thank him for me. He did well setting up and damaging the stake – I was able to break it easily. Oh, and well done on concealing me with the extra flames.” Red orbs glinted in the darkness. “You’ve improved a lot since we first met.”

Kuroko frowned. “That’s nice of you to say, Akashi-kun, but please don’t talk about us like we’re your employees. You were included in the oath too; if we’re going to be killed, you have a responsibility just like the rest of us.”

Akashi’s eyes gleamed. “Of course.”

As he began to walk away, Kuroko called out to him. “Akashi-kun?”

“Yes, Tetsuya?”

“Be careful.”

Akashi’s mouth curved into a satisfied smile before he turned and vanished among the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> Aaaand that's it. I said I was going to post this on Furihata's birthday but it's now half past midnight on the 9th. Oops. It's still the 8th for some people, though, so happy birthday Furihata!
> 
> I've been going at this for over a year, it's weird to think that it's over. I kinda want to read it all over from the start and see what it's like, laughs. But I hope you all enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> And another thing... I sort of lied. By "it's over," I mean this particular story is over. Some of you may have wondered this from the epilogue, but yes - there will be a sequel. 
> 
> I won't start it for a while though; I need a bit of a break! I'll post occasional updates about it on my tumblr (furihatakouki.tumblr.com) or my twitter (actual_tsucchi) nearer the time, as well as any other writing I might do. Feel free to shoot me an ask if you have any questions.
> 
> That's it, then! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and left kudos - without you I probably would've lost motivation or succumbed to writing block. I honestly never expected to get over 50 kudos, let alone 300, and I'm still kind of alarmed but also really happy that this fic got such a positive response. It's the longest fic I've written and only the second multi-chaptered one I've ever finished!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed Sorcerer, and thank you so much for reading!


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